How a Free-Spirit Woman Fought for a River to Freely Flow

Author: Ani Hakobyan

29.09.16

In summer 2016, the Armenian government announced it would cut off the water from the Azat river in Garni and divert it to other villages. People protested but Arusyak Ayvazyan boldly stood up for the whole village and led a demonstration which blocked the road connecting Garni to the capital Yerevan. She confronted the then-Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan when he visited Garni to negotiate with the inhabitants. It paid back and the project was cancelled.