Residents of Several Villages Block Edjmiadzin-Margara Road; Regional Police Chief and District Police Head Arrive

A tense situation has arisen in the Armavir region. For over three hours, residents of about four villages have blocked the Edjmiadzin-Margara highway in the administrative area of Yeraskhahun village as a sign of protest, demanding a meeting with the minister and the governor of Armavir.

According to photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan, the villagers are expressing their frustration about not being able to sell the eggplants and peppers they have cultivated, after believing the relevant authorities who urged them last spring to grow these vegetables.

“Now we believed them and have grown eggplants and peppers, but we are faced with the fact that we can’t sell them. We are being told to cut the peppers, dry them on the asphalt, and something might happen. And this is being advised by an official from the Armavir regional administration, who receives a salary funded by our taxes. We do not trust the Armavir regional administration, which is why we have blocked the road, so that either the minister or a representative authorized by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan come,” one of the villagers stated.

“To be honest, we only trust N. Pashinyan. We know that those sitting below him are providing him with incorrect information. If the Prime Minister learns the truth, the problem will be solved in favor of the farmers.”

Although the villagers blocked the road, Karen Hakobyan, the head of the Armavir regional police, and Gevorg, the head of the Armavir division of police, arrived at the scene with a large number of police officers, who urged the villagers to continue their protest off the road. The villagers complied with their request and continued the protest away from the roadway.

At this time, an official from the Armavir regional administration is speaking with the villagers, but they tell him that he is too insignificant to solve this issue, asserting that only the Prime Minister can resolve the problem.