Ararat Governor ‘Not Familiar’ with Grape Farmers’ Problems

Aramayis Grigoryan, the governor of Armenia’s Ararat province, is not aware of the details of Kaghtsrashen grape farmers’ problems, despite the fact that the villagers have already staged dozens of protest actions both in their village and in capital Yerevan.

The Kaghtrashen winegrowers – who are still waiting on payment for the grapes they sold to the local Vinar winery in the fall of 2015 – yesterday gathered outside the governor’s office, wishing to receive specific information on when they will finally get the money they’re owed; governor Grigoryan again did not give them a clear answer.

“He did not say anything specific; one would think he was totally unaware of the issue. He only offered to give us cognac in place of the money. We refused, of course. People have loans in banks, what use is cognac to us?” Kaghtrashen villager Gevorg Harutyunyan said in conversation with Epress.am.

According to the interviewee, the winegrowers reminded the governor that the ministry of agriculture had promised to sell the raw materials and repay the villagers’ debt by December last year. Grigoryan, however, replied that he was not familiar with the details of the issue because he was “out of the country then.” The governor also told the farmers that prime minister Karen Krapetyan was scheduled to visit the province in the upcoming days.

“We’ll wait until next Thursday, March 16, and if the prime minister does not show up, we will stage a protest action outside the government office. We know that only the prime minister can resolve this issue,” Harutyunyan said.