Employees of "Araratcement" achieved the reopening of the enterprise.
Employees of the factory "Araratcement", owned by the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" party, Gagik Tsarukyan, demanded to reopen the enterprise, which had been sealed for several days. The factory director, after negotiations with the security forces, reported that he received permission to resume operations. Pashinyan threatened to fire employees of the enterprise for participating in protests.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 7, the court arrested for two months the leader of the opposition party "Prosperous Armenia", billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, accused of fraud and tax evasion. Prior to this, on July 6, security forces conducted searches at the home of Gagik Tsarukyan and in all his companies. Several opposition forces in Armenia called Tsarukyan's detention political persecution. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated during the election campaign in May that the factory "Araratcement", owned by the Tsarukyan family, would be nationalized. After that, the prosecutor's office reported a case regarding violations during the privatization of the enterprise. Before the elections, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in court demanding the annulment of the privatization of the "Araratcement" enterprise.
Tsarukyan's party "Prosperous Armenia" along with other Armenian political parties previously issued a statement about the illegitimacy of the authorities and plans to seek their removal.
Employees of the factory "Araratcement", owned by the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" party, Gagik Tsarukyan, held a protest today.
Dozens of employees gathered at the factory to understand what was happening and what fate awaited them, reports Yerevan Today.
"These people apparently fulfilled an order: they needed to come, close it, and leave. We contacted the Investigative Committee, asking them to remove these seals so that we could work and resolve the issue of people's earnings. At the moment, we have no news. The accounting department is closed, there are no sales, there is no finance, under such conditions, what salary can we talk about?" - quotes the words of the director of "Araratcement", Artem Poghosyan, News.Am.
After negotiations with the security forces, he announced that the factory received permission to resume the production process, writes Armenia Today.
According to Poghosyan, shifts are currently being formed, technical work is being carried out, and the condition of the equipment is being checked, after which production will be launched.
"We have received all the necessary permits to resume the production process," Poghosyan stated.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that "Araratcement" will soon be transferred to state ownership, and the management of the enterprise will be handed over to an appointed manager.
He urged workers not to participate in illegal actions, stating that violators would be fired.
In response to journalists' questions about the fact that "Araratcement" employees have not been able to enter the enterprise for three days, Pashinyan stated that the authorities "will do everything" to protect their rights, but urged workers "not to repeat the situation" around the Zangezur copper-molybdenum plant.
"I advise and ask the workers of "Araratcement"<...> not to go down that path. Those who commit such actions will be fired," the Prime Minister said.
When asked by journalists whether this is a threat, the Prime Minister replied: "Yes, essentially, this is a threat," the agency reports.