Pashinyan pledges protection for Araratcement employees 

ArmInfo."I made a political statement regarding Araratcement only after receiving a corresponding signal from law enforcement agencies, and not the other  way around," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters  on July 9.

He assured that everything possible would be done to protect the  rights of all Araratcement employees. At the same time, the prime  minister asked the plant's employees not to commit actions they would  later regret. In this regard, he recalled the situation surrounding  the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), when he warned  employees of dismissal if they carried out someone else's orders. "I  said this in June, and by August they were already fired. Criminal  cases were launched against some of them, and some have already been  convicted. I want the rules of the game to be clear to everyone. Some  are asking, through intermediaries or directly, to be reinstated. I  refuse because the rules were established, and they heard what I  said," the prime minister said.

Pashinyan made a similar request to the employees of Araratcement.  Pashinyan stated that the plant would soon be transferred to state  ownership, and its manager would be appointed following the same  procedure.

It should be noted that employees of the Araratcement plant, owned by  Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, are holding  a protest on the premises, demanding the resumption of operations  following the investigative actions carried out by law enforcement  agencies.

According to broadcasts from the scene, a significant number of  police officers from the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs are on  duty at the plant. The plant has been idle for four days, following  the investigative actions carried out at the plant on July 6.  Hundreds of plant employees came to their workplaces today, demanding  the plant resume operations. They complain that the plant's downtime  is putting them in a desperate situation, as many have loan  repayments that must be made monthly. According to the protesters,  the building is sealed, the accounting office is closed, and they  have no hope of receiving their wages.