Qajaran Update: Conversation between Prime Minister and Village Mayor

New details have emerged regarding a Mar. 3 conversation between Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Kajaran mayor Rafik Atayan (pictured), reports regional newspaper “Syunyats Yerkir” in an article published today titled “The Emperor has No Clothes: Qajaran Melodrama in Two Acts,” as reported by Ecolur.org.

According to the conversation published by the paper, asked by the village mayor whether he intends to annul the government decision that transferred land belonging to the village to a copper plant to begin mining operations, the PM said that many political parties are involved in the matter, including the Green Party of Armenia, and that some of these parties are hindering the process of settling this issue.

“Can you imagine what would happen if each of the more than 900 village communities in the country began political processes to resolve its issues? As for the village of Qajaran, we will make a decision that stems from the interests of our state and our society. In the first place, a decision that stems from the interests of the province’s residents,” he said, urging not to turn the issue into a subject of political speculations.

The paper reports that after this official exchange began a more informal conversation:

PM: Rafik dear, don’t you want to drink a glass with me?
Mayor: Why not?
PM: Rafik dear, how many [eligible] voters do we have in the village?
Mayor: 180.
[Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine owner] Maxim Hakobyan: He’s lying. There are 167 voters.
Mayor: You’re uninformed; you’re the one who’s lying.
PM: How many votes are you going to give to our party?
Mayor: I don’t know.
PM: Aren’t you going to give even one vote to our party?
Mayor: I don’t know.

Recall, Rafik Atayan appealed to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in writing earlier this month, asking the latter to intervene in the matter.