The Authorities Are Secretly Visiting Syunik Region: 'Hraparak'

After the failure of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Syunik in December, the authorities have not dared to visit the region openly, opting for secret trips instead. From April 1-3, the Prime Minister's advisor Arayik Harutyunyan and Minister of Territorial Administration Suren Papikyan were dispatched to the region, meeting with party activists to discuss pre-election organizational issues.

The meetings were held at night to avoid any potential problems. They did not meet with any officials or community leaders, a fact confirmed by Kapan's Mayor Gevorg Parsyan. They were hosted at the home of My Step alliance MP Karen Hambardzumyan, who did not deny the visit of his colleagues but suggested they clarify the purpose of the visit themselves. 'Later, I and Mr. Harutyunyan were in Goris, where we met with our activists to hear their issues and discuss the general situation—that's all,' he stated.

Essentially, they are being dispatched at the expense of the state budget to listen to their party members' concerns. Hambardzumyan claimed that the meetings did not take place at night.