VIDEO: We have cases where a person has an apartment nearby, but does not give up the shack. Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that since taking office in 2018, ensuring the realization of the rights of citizens affected by the earthquake has been a fundamental issue for him. He made this statement during the Q&A session between the National Assembly and the Government.

“The first question I posed was to provide the list of individuals for whom the state has obligations in terms of eliminating the consequences of the earthquake disaster. As of today, Armenia has fulfilled all obligations towards these citizens, except for 28 families who have expressed their wish to resolve their issues within the framework of the processes related to the construction of the Kapsi reservoir. In other words, de jure, at this moment, the Republic of Armenia has no obligations towards any citizen regarding the elimination of the consequences of the 1988 earthquake,” emphasized Pashinyan.

According to him, the existence of shack settlements hinders the development of Gyumri. The Prime Minister has set a goal to completely free the city from shacks, after which the government received letters stating that residents had been victims of injustice years ago and continue to live in shacks.

“In response to these letters, I gave instructions to clarify the circumstances of the citizens living in the shacks. It turned out, for example, that there are people living in shacks who have an apartment in a nearby village, so it is important to clarify the legal relations between the state and those living in the shacks,” he said.