RFE/RL – More Workers Protest Against Forced Closure Of Tsarukian’s Firms

Tsarukian was arrested on July 6 during a 12-hour search conducted at his villa just north of Yerevan. Law-enforcement authorities also raided and sealed off the offices of dozens of companies making up his Multi Group. Those included Armenia’s main cement plant and one of its largest brandy distilleries. Thousands of their workers were sent home on what amounted to unpaid leave.

The plant located in Ararat, a town 55 kilometers south of Yerevan, alone employs nearly 1,000 people. Many of them rallied at its premises on Thursday. Although Pashinian publicly threatened to fire them, the Armenian government allowed the plant to resume operations.

The other Multi Group businesses remain closed. Scores of people working at two of them, the Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory and Multi Stone, took to the streets on Monday to also protest against the loss of their income. A Multi Stone worker warned that they will block a national highway if the authorities keep his company closed.

Workers of the Euromotors car leadership, the Multi Wellness fitness as well as the training center of the Armenian National Olympic Committee headed by Tsarukian demonstrated for the same reason on Saturday.

“Our entire work is disrupted,” said the Euromotors manager, Abraham Danaguzian. “We can neither take orders nor sell.”

So far the authorities have explained only the forced closure of Multi Welness and the Ararat plant. The State Revenue Committee has accused both companies of tax evasion, a charge strongly denied by Multi Group.

Nor has there been any official explanation of the connection between the closures and separate charges levelled against Tsarukian and rejected by him as politically motivated. The tycoon is accused of defrauding Iranian business partners.

Pashinian vowed to nationalize the cement plant when he campaigned for the June 7 parliamentary elections in which Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) was one of the main opposition contenders. He has since repeatedly pledged to imprison and “dispossess” Tsarukian as well as the leaders of two other key opposition groups. The jailed tycoon’s representatives say Pashinian’s statements prove that law-enforcement authorities are acting on his illegal and politically motivated orders.

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