As the Governor of Lori, I condemn the illegal actions of the head of the Gyulagarak community: Andrey Ghukasyan

Lori Governor Andrey Ghukasyan has issued a statement regarding the recent events in the Gyulagarak community of the Lori province. Below is the text of the statement:

“Dear compatriots, dear people of Lori,

Recent events and developments in the Gyulagarak community of Lori province obligate me, as the Governor of Lori, to issue a statement regarding the chain of illegal actions taken by the head of the Gyulagarak consolidated community, Mher Gevorgyan.

On April 10 of this year, at 11:00 AM, a meeting of the Gyulagarak community council was broadcast live on the community head's Facebook page, during which community head Mher Gevorgyan presented his resignation to the council. He had also submitted an application regarding his resignation via email to the Lori Governor's office. However, later, days after the council meeting, the head of the community administration submitted to the Lori Governor’s office an extract from the minutes of the extraordinary council meeting held on April 10, 2020, in which the issue of the community head's resignation was not included on the agenda at all.

How much the content of the falsified document is distorted will become clear in due course.

Based on the facts presented above, the Lori Governor has filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia against the Lori province Gyulagarak community council, demanding that an official record be made regarding the early termination of the community head Mher Gevorgyan's powers and that this record be submitted to the Lori Governor of the Republic of Armenia. Additionally, on April 29, 2020, the Lori Governor sent a letter to the Prosecutor of Lori province, G. Manukyan, in which it was stated: “Considering the events that have occurred, I request that the actions of the Gyulagarak community council, the community head, and the secretary of the community administration be legally assessed and proceed in accordance with the established procedure of Armenian legislation.” The lawsuit presented by the Lori Governor has been accepted for consideration by the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia, and the public will be informed of the results after the trial is completed.

Today, we learned that Mher Gevorgyan has relieved the administrative heads of the villages of Vardablur and Kourtan, Ruslan Ohanian and Narek Nalbandyan, from their positions. It should be noted that both have been illegally dismissed from their jobs. The administrative head of Vardablur submitted a resignation application, to which Mher Gevorgyan's order followed the next day, terminating the administrative head's powers.

According to Article 109, Clause 1, Subclause 3 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia, an employment contract may be terminated at the initiative of the employee. However, according to Clause 3 of Article 112 of the same code, the employee has the right to withdraw the termination notice no later than three working days after submitting it. Thus, Mher Gevorgyan's order violated the employee's right, which is enshrined in Clause 3 of Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia and can be withdrawn within three working days, which has not yet expired.

As for the administrative leader of Kourtan, the order issued by Mher Gevorgyan is also unlawful for the following reason: the legal basis stated in the order refers to Clause 6 of Article 113, which states: “in case of loss of trust in the employee.” I present Article 122 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia, which clearly interprets the cases in which a contract can be terminated with an employee whose trust has been lost: “1. When serving monetary or material values, actions performed by the employee that resulted in the employer suffering material loss; 2. An employee engaged in educational and teaching functions has committed an act incompatible with the continuation of work; 3. Disclosed state, service, commercial, or technological secrets or informed a competing organization about them.” Therefore, an urgent and substantive response is required: which of the above points did the administrative head of Kourtan violate?

In conclusion, the developments occurring in Gyulagarak over the past 20 days reaffirm my stance against a community head led by pressure and personal greed for decades. The times of suppression, violence, fear, bribery, and uproar to resolve issues are over. Power now belongs to the people, who deserve to have a diligent and dedicated community head, who will engage in fair, honest, and productive work, rather than deceiving the people with minimal resources under the guise of social assistance and benefits while continuously expanding personal property.

I, as the Governor of Lori, condemn the illegal actions of the head of the Gyulagarak community.”