Gegharkunik Governor Threatens Employees to Attend Rally or Lose Their Jobs

The newspaper 'Hraparak' reports: 'The authorities, signaling the end of the 'Tavush for the Homeland' movement, used all their resources yesterday to thwart the visit to Vardenis and the planned rally. Gegharkunik Governor Karen Sargsyan strictly prohibited employees of institutions under the jurisdiction of the governorate from participating in the rally, threatening that those who do would be fired. Meanwhile, the mayor of Vardenis and a covert member of the ruling party, Aharon Khachatryan, organized an urgent meeting with local Armenians just hours before the rally. Thirty minutes before the rally, at 17:30, they were convened at a cultural house to ostensibly discuss social issues. An Armenian from Artsakh, who requested to remain anonymous, firmly believed that the meeting was intentionally scheduled at that time to deter them from attending the rally.'