Pashinyan Wanted to Visit Cemetery, but Relatives of Fallen Soldiers Blocked the Way

The administrative head of the Agarak community, Gevorg Arakelyan, was unaware that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was scheduled to visit their community today, April 21. In an interview with NEWS.am, he recounted that when the residents learned of Pashinyan's visit, they decided to go and raise their pressing questions with the Prime Minister, but security personnel prevented them from approaching him, escalating the situation.

“Our people, upon learning he was coming, gathered to ask questions regarding the corridor and the situation in the country, but there was a scuffle initiated by his security staff. He did not respond to the people's questions. We are people with honor and dignity; I deeply assess his behavior as very poor. It could have been possible to sit down and talk with the residents, explain, say, 'Folks, it’s not a corridor, it’s a road; everything will happen through procedures, there will be customs,' or something to calm the people, to clarify that we understand we have lost, but it’s not just by signing a capitulation. It’s not right to come and go with a smirk. This is the first time I have seen something like this. Our Agarak is very peaceful; have you heard of any dissent from Agarak before? You haven’t,” said the administrative head of the Agarak community.

According to Gevorg Arakelyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other officials accompanying him wished to visit the cemetery, but the relatives of those who fell in the 44-day war did not allow it and blocked the way, forcing the Prime Minister to leave. It is noted that today Pashinyan visited Agarak city, where citizens greeted him with insults and offensive remarks. The residents of Syunik demanded that he leave the region. After some time, Pashinyan departed from Agarak, escorted by numerous security personnel.