Man Insulting Village Women from Car; Protests in Zartonq Also Against Mayor's Daughter

In the Zartonq community of Armavir province, a brawl occurred today, April 12, between school staff and villagers. Hamlet Abovyan, a resident of the community, informed NEWS.am about the incident.

He recounted that the school principal, Manush Sargsyan, who is the daughter of the village mayor Paruyr Sargsyan, recently insulted the women of the village. "We submitted a complaint to the Ministry of Education and the educational department of the provincial administration, requesting immediate inspections at our school. A few days ago, while passing by in a car, she lowered the window and insulted the village women in a masculine manner," he said.

Today at around 14:00, employees from the education department of the provincial administration arrived at the school to conduct inspections. When the protesting residents learned that inspectors had arrived, they went to the school yard. "We wanted to enter the school when we were confronted by the school operator, Samson Hovsepyan, and clashes broke out between the women and school staff. They began pushing our women, one twisted her ankle and fell into the water, and Samson Hovsepyan hit his head and lost consciousness," recounted Hamlet Abovyan.

Since Samson Hovsepyan was injured and hospitalized at the central hospital of Hrazdan, attempts were made to blame them for the brawl. Hamlet Abovyan stated, "We then saw they were going to hold us responsible. We, the protesters, blocked the Armavir-Yerevan interstate road, and later the head of the Armavir administration came and urged us to open the road, which we did."

The Zartonq village mayor Paruyr Sargsyan told NEWS.am that he and several school staff members are currently in the hospital. Regarding the incident in the school yard, he stated that classes were in session, which is why they did not allow entry into the school. "My daughter is an educated girl and is not capable of such things; enough of the slander," said the mayor.

It is worth noting that residents of the Zartonq community in Armavir province have been staging protests demanding the resignation of mayor Paruyr Sargsyan, who has served for 23 years. The mayor stated that he is not planning to resign due to the demands of a few individuals; however, he would resign if presented with a petition containing 450-500 signatures. Community residents have gathered over 500 signatures, but the mayor has not resigned, claiming they are forgeries.