Government Workers Forced to Buy Lottery Tickets to ‘Help’ Karabakh Soldiers

The staffs of a number of Armenian ministries and their subordinate non-profits organizations are being mandated to buy Artsakh National Lottery tickets “to help resolve the social issues of Nagorno-Karabakh defense army servicemen.” According to information available to Epress.am, some of the employees of the non-profits have tried to refuse to buy the 2000-dram tickets, but had to eventually oblige when told by superiors that the “contribution” was mandatory.

The main purpose of the lottery, according to its official description, is to contribute to the production and distribution of national handicrafts around the world. “Get one lottery ticket and take collective responsibility for the development of Artsakh,” the description on the ticket says.

According to multiple past media reports, the voluntary-compulsory distribution of the lottery tickets in various state institutions has been ongoing for many years. In 2014, Hraparak newspaper wrote that Yerevan schoolteachers were being forced to sell the tickets at schools. In 2013, Haykakan Zhamanak had reported that the tickets were being circulated at the National Agrarian University.

“Our reporter visited the university and saw the lottery’s advertising posters inside the building. ‘You win – wins the country,’ the posters said. The description on the ticket, meanwhile, claimed that ‘by taking part in the lottery you will contribute to the repatriation of Artsakh,’” the paper had written.