Villagers block road from Sotk to Vardenis

Today, residents of the villages in the Gegarkunik Region have blocked the road from the village of Sotk to the town of Vardenis. They demand to cancel the decision to unite the Gegamasar community with Vardenis. The protestors fear that the enlargement of the community will lead to an outflow of the population from the border zone.

The police tried to detain one of the activists, which led to clashes with the protesters. A clash broke out between the protesters and the police. The villagers blocked the road with their cars, and policemen pushed one of the cars off the road, the “News.am” reported.

Several dozen villagers took part in the protest action. The Gegamasar community includes 18 villages, and the authorities intend to annex the community to Vardenis. All 18 villages of the Gegamasar community are located near border, and, according to the residents of the community, they are the ones who protect the borders of the country. Meanwhile, by uniting the Gegamasar community with Vardenis, the authorities try to stimulate the movement of residents of the border villages to the town, suggests Akop Avetyan, the head of the community, as quoted today by the “Sputnik Armenia”.

Blocking the road is the only way to attract the attention of the authorities, as they do not take into account the opinion of the local residents, Akop Avetyan adds.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2021 at 11:28 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.