Amid Possible Concessions in Syunik, Authorities Attempt to Remove Local Mayors: Anna Grigoryan

During the campaign in Syunik, the acting Prime Minister openly threatened that the mayors of Syunik would end up in prison, and that they would be taken away by being thrown on the asphalt, attempting to carry out what he promised. This was stated by independent MP Anna Grigoryan, a member of the 'Armenia' alliance, in an interview with Tert.am, discussing the persecution of Syunik's mayors.

'Of course, it would be better if he made and fulfilled promises regarding the country's security, but this is what he is capable of, and therefore he promises about this, forgetting that we have new casualties and new captives at the border, not to mention whether we have borders or not,' said Grigoryan.

According to her, political persecution is being carried out against Syunik's mayors because they were the first to demand the resignation of this government in a very harsh manner.

'They demanded a resignation considering that it is due to the decisions made by this government that Azerbaijanis are currently in Syunik territory and are stationed just a few meters away from Kapan airport; interstate and inter-community roads have fallen under Azerbaijan's control,' she stated.

In response to the observation that the requests for the detention of Syunik mayors were not approved during the pre-election period, but are being approved post-election, the MP replied, 'Before the elections, the independence of the courts was somewhat evident, but after the elections, I think more pressure has started to be exerted by the authorities, and we have what we have.'

Grigoryan attributed the persecution of the mayors to two circumstances: personal revenge and the events taking place in Syunik.

'The fact that there is petty revenge is evident; one can even see this in the manner of their detention, but it is also clear that there could be possible concessions regarding Syunik, and these authorities are trying to remove the people who will not allow this and, as before, consolidate community potential to stand against the next anti-state step that will be organized by the authorities,' she noted.

The MP also emphasized that the demand for the resignation of the authorities has come not only from Syunik but also from various mayors in different regions of Armenia, yet there have been no politically motivated persecutions against them.

'Therefore, it can be understood that this is not only revenge but also an attempt to simply remove local mayors under the backdrop of possible concessions and to appoint 'puppet' leaders in their place, who will merely remain silent, and further concessions will take place. As much as the authorities try to say that there is no discussion happening within the corridor logic, we also hear simultaneously what the leader of the hostile country is saying, and this seems to be confirmed by other countries with silent consent, thus we have every right to assume that certain concessions are expected, and that is one of the main reasons why political persecutions are being carried out against our mayors,' she said.

It should be noted that the mayors of Kapan, Manvel Paramazyan, Goris, Arush Arushanyan, and Sisian, Arthur Sargsyan, are currently detained.