Employees of Tsarukyan's enterprise demanded the resumption of work.
Employees of the stone processing enterprise "Multi Stone," owned by the arrested head of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan, risk being left without means of livelihood due to the company's downtime, said participants of the protest in Abovyan.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the enterprises of the head of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan have not resumed work a week after his arrest. On July 13 and 14, their employees held protests, stating that they risk being left without means of livelihood. Workers of the "Araratcement" plant managed to reopen the sealed enterprise on July 9, while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan threatened them with dismissal for participating in the protests.
On July 7, the court arrested the leader of the opposition party "Prosperous Armenia," billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, for two months, accused of fraud and tax evasion. Prior to this, on July 6, law enforcement conducted searches at Gagik Tsarukyan's home and in all his companies. Several opposition forces in Armenia called Tsarukyan's detention political persecution. Pashinyan stated during the election campaign in May that the "Araratcement" plant, owned by Tsarukyan's family, would be nationalized. After that, the prosecutor's office announced a case regarding violations during the privatization of the enterprise. Before the elections, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit demanding the annulment of the privatization of the "Araratcement" enterprise.
Employees of the "Multi Stone" enterprise, owned by the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" party Gagik Tsarukyan, have been holding a protest for the third consecutive day demanding the seals be removed and the plant resume operations, writes Armenia Today.
The workers warned that if there is no response from the authorities, they may take more decisive actions. According to them, the enterprise has been idle for ten days, but government agencies have not yet reported when employees will be able to return to work. One participant in the protest stated that the plant is the only source of income for its workers. According to her, with their salaries, employees pay for utilities, support students, elderly and sick relatives, and also pay off loans. The employees approached the police gathered near the enterprise and emphasized that they are conducting a peaceful protest and are not blocking the road. They asked the law enforcement officers to help get a concrete response from the government agencies. The police officer stated that the employees have already contacted the relevant authorities and will receive a response.
Protest participants demanded to be informed of the exact timeline for the opening of the enterprise. According to them, if the plant is not going to resume operations in the near future, the authorities should directly say so, so that employees can understand how to act next.
One of the workers suggested that the Investigative Committee may not be related to the decision to close the enterprise. In his opinion, this decision was made by "one person" — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan — who wants to leave the workers without means of livelihood due to their support for Tsarukyan, the agency writes.
"We have been standing here for the third day not for politics, but for the survival of our families and we will not leave until the enterprise is unsealed," said one of the protest participants, as reported by News.Am.
The people gathered near the sealed building emphasized that the forced downtime has effectively deprived hundreds of families of their only source of livelihood.
Employees of the "Multi Stone" stone processing plant also demand that the governor of Kotayk region, Agaron Saakyan, respond to when they will be able to return to work, writes "Sputnik Armenia."