During Pashinyan's Visit, Two Shurnukh Families Received 500,000 Drams Each, According to the Village Head

The village head of Shurnukh, Hakob Arshakyan, has labeled the statement by the acting Prime Minister as false, claiming that they were told that the lands in Shurnukh that fell under Azerbaijani control belong to Azerbaijan and will eventually be given back, which is why they did not privatize those lands in time.

“For a week, we have brought surveyors to the community to conduct the privatization process. Previously, payments were supposed to be made by the state, and the surveyors were employees of the state system. However, later, the organizations conducting surveys became private companies, and when I became village head, I can say that at that time there was no money in the people's pockets, nor did they want to pay those private companies from their own pockets for surveys. Back then, one hectare cost 70,000 drams; I even brought a surveyor from Artsakh to do the job at a lower price, and I paid from my own pocket, but later it was said that his license would not be recognized in Armenia,” said Shurnukh village head Hakob Arshakyan in an interview with NEWS.am.

It should be noted that last night, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Shurnukh, where a resident complained that their village lands were not privatized. In response, Pashinyan stated that the people of Shurnukh did not privatize the lands because they were told at the time not to privatize since those lands were considered territory of Azerbaijan and would eventually be returned. “How is it that all over Armenia lands were privatized, but not in Shurnukh?”

During Pashinyan's meeting, a Shurnukh man, whose house came under Azerbaijani control after the 44-day war, mentioned that recently 500,000 drams were distributed by clergymen to families whose houses went to Azerbaijan. Their number is 12. The resident expressed dissatisfaction that only 10 families received this money and that his family did not receive any.

The village head of Shurnukh stated that the money was distributed by the Catholicos, but not to 10 families, rather to 9 families, including one family displaced from Artsakh. “The Catholicos visited Shurnukh and assistance was provided to those who lost their homes and were actually in the village. Those who were temporarily absent did not have their names on the list to receive funds. Money was allocated to 9 families, one of which was a displaced family from Artsakh. The Catholicos entered their house; the woman of that household said she would like to buy the house, which was valued at 1,500,000 drams, and the Catholicos provided the necessary amount to that family. Three families did not receive funding, one of which is my brother Ararat Aghabekyan's family, because they were in Goris. I repeat, three families did not receive any funds, from which two were given by the Prime Minister here yesterday. People who attended that meeting say that each family was given 500,000 drams,” recounted the village head of Shurnukh.

The news agency contacted Prime Minister Pashinyan's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan to clarify whether the acting Prime Minister provided funds to two families from Shurnukh. In response, Gevorgyan stated that she did not have such information and noted she would try to verify the accuracy of this information, but ultimately was unable to confirm the news as the calls went unanswered.