Residents of 3-4 Houses in Shurnukh Meet with Pashinyan, Says Community Leader

Following the ongoing election campaign in Syunik, Nikol Pashinyan met with residents of Shurnukh, during which they expressed their concerns about the lack of land privatization and the suspension of funds allocated for agricultural machinery.

Pashinyan responded to the farmers' remarks that the lands had not been privatized by stating that this was due to the understanding that they could be transferred to Azerbaijan, referencing a law passed in 2010 establishing the current border.

24News spoke with Hakob Arshakyan, the head of the Shurnukh community, who mentioned that he was not aware of the meeting in advance, despite prior arrangements. According to him, about 14-15 residents from 3-4 households met with the Prime Minister.

“One of the villagers said the lands aren’t being privatized; the acting Prime Minister said they belong to Azerbaijan, and that’s why they aren’t privatized. But that’s not the case. Our plot is located at the upper part of the village. Previously, land surveying was not conducted by the state under public procurement, and after surveying organizations became private, the villagers were hesitant to pay for it. It has been a week since the surveying process began. The community has brought in a geodesist, and those who are complaining are requested to go measure with the geodesist, but they don’t go. I go myself. This wasn’t the topic that should have been raised there, as they knew that the community leader was handling it. If Pashinyan understood where our land is located, he wouldn’t have said such a thing. According to him, if we were giving away our lands, then the Tatev community and the villages of Kapan should become border areas. In other words, the village would completely belong to Azerbaijan, and the border should be drawn this side of Kapan. There were likely guided questions; I don’t understand why such a thing was organized,” he stated.

Speaking about the assistance sent to the village, the community leader said that all funds received have been transferred to a cooperative, which was then sent to the Ministry of Economy to secure 20% of the funds needed for agricultural machinery procurement.

“One million drams were sent from Germany by a friend of mine, another family transferred 2 million drams, and the city hall allocated about 1 million 700 thousand drams. The agricultural machinery has already arrived, but the attachments are still missing; the Ministry of Economy needs to transfer funds for the attachments to reach their final destination. Or, they tell the Prime Minister that the village mayor lives in the village hall, but where else would the village mayor stay? If I lived in Goris in December, who would oversee 170 armed groups? During the war, the village hall was a headquarters, and I slept at the headquarters, not in the village hall,” he added.