Hovhannes Harutyunyan, the commander of the Arabkir unit, a former prisoner of conscience and a former manager of the UYV Arabkir district subsidiary, who is an ordinary member of the subsidiary now, commenting on the controversies that had arisen between the Arabkir subsidiary and the UYV leadership about endorsing Satik Seyranyan, a candidate for MP, in the community the day before, said during a conversation with www.aravot.am that he had found out about the incident that had taken place the day before only that morning.
He told that Artur Ghazaryan, the deputy manager of the Arabkir subsidiary whose children’s godfather was Satik Seyranyan’s husband, former head of the neighborhood of Arabkir Hovhannes Shahinyan, had stated that the subsidiary would endorse Satik Seyranyan’s candidacy. After the UYV executive committee had found out about that, a few Yerkrapahs led by Artur Mkrtchyan, aka “Chut” (short), the deputy-bodyguard of Manvel Grigoryan, the chairman of the executive committee, demanded explications from the management of the Arabkir subsidiary, the latter, according to Hovhannes Harutyunyan, are shifting the responsibility on one another now. “Gagik Davtyan, the manager of the subsidiary, says that he didn’t know about that, it is Artur’s initiative. ‘Chut’ and several others came and threatened that they would expel from the UYV and would discharge from the office. They said that the UYV endorsed Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) member Artak Sargsyan’s candidacy, how they had decided that they would endorse Satik,” Harutyunyan told, adding that he himself had only heard that the UYV had made some statement about endorsing Artak Sargsyan, but he hadn’t seen and hadn’t read the statement.
He also said that there hadn’t been any “clash or fuss” in the vicinity of Kanaker Hydroelectric Power Plant, as the press had written, there had just been a loud conversation. In response to our question what decision the Arabkir subsidiary had made in the end, Hovhannes Harutyunyan said that “it was said that they endorsed Artak Sargsyan, Artur Ghazaryan explained that he had just expressed his opinion. I don’t understand what is going on at all.”
Hovhannes Harutyunyan said that he himself endorsed the candidacy of Aram Manukyan nominated by the ANC, “Whom else should I endorse? No one can tell me whom I should endorse. Members of the subsidiary are all determined people. The UYV is not a party, there are Yerkrapahs from different parties in the UYV and everyone has his own opinion. It is not like they come and tell us to vote for this one or to vote for that one, period. He will not go and vote for the man indicated, now will he? Many people say ‘yeah, bro, as you say,’ but people know for whom to vote, what to do, now don’t they?”
