STATEMENT BY LEVON TER-PETROSYAN
Support A1+!RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan made a statement on the occasion of the pressures against the Sukiasyan family. We present the statement in its entirety.
“Lately the “Bjni” factory stopped producing the “Bjni” mineral water due to a false charge. Instead of resisting the global financial and economic crisis and evading the destructive effects, the RA administration is doing the opposite and with that they will deepen the huge effects of the crisis in Armenia. With this illegal step the administration made nearly 500 people lose their jobs, the state budget lost a major taxpayer and it deprived the country from exporting one of the most competitive products in the international market.
If we take into account the other companies owned by the family, including “Pizza di Roma” and the “Phillip Morris” Armenian affiliate, it is clear that we are dealing with the political persecution against the Sukiasyans and not setting order in finances. The administration can’t forgive Khachatur Sukiasyan for joining the pan-Armenian movement during the last presidential elections. The administration can’t understand that Sukiasyan was guided not by his personal dislike, but rather his personal and professional approaches and beliefs for the development of the country. Sukiasyan is one of the few businessmen in Armenia who has specialized in the up-to-date mechanisms of free market economy and has worked in the field legally and transparently. He is trusted and respected by businessmen in Armenia and abroad, has paid all of his taxes to date and by not becoming a member of this criminal regime, has aroused anger among the administration members. We can imagine what happens to small and middle businessmen after seeing what is happening to a businessman who is known around the world.
The economic and political infringements on the Sukiasyan family is not just one case; it is a crime against the interests of all honest businessmen of Armenia the goal of which is to reform the economic field and criminalize it for good. Thus, the society must raise its voice of protest in order to put an end to those infringements and the panic among businessmen. The government, the National Assembly, the Union of Industrialists, the Sukiasyan family’s colleagues abroad, as well as the offices of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank must express their concerns.
