On March 24, the former employees of the Nairit Plant held a protest action in Yerevan to demand their wages from the authorities. Earlier they applied to Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan. Today they held a procession to the President's palace, however, no one met them there. Afterwards, Nairit's former employees made their way to the Parliament building.
Near the Parliament building, they met with the MPs from the opposition Armenian National Congress Aram Manukyan and Levon Zurabyan. "The Government is deliberately misleading you. The authorities are also trying to split you by giving wages to some of your coworkers and colleagues, who receive that money and stop fighting together with you. This is a clear tactics applied by the authorities. Don't yield to it and try to make your friends keep fighting for restoration of your legal rights", Manukyan said to the demonstrators.
During the protest action, MPs from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Vardan Ayvazyan and Garegin Nushikyan approached the demonstrators and promised to help them.
The demonstrators also sent a letter to the Prosecutor General and demanded that he should "investigate the misappropriation of the Nairit Plant's funds, which should have been paid to the employees in wages".
To note, Nairit Plant has been idle since April 2010. The Plant's shares were given as security against the CIS InterStateBank's 70 mln USD loan provided in 2006 for 5 years - till late Dec 2011 - at 12.5% p.a. In 2006, 90% of Nairit Plant's shares were sold to Rhinoville Property Limited (UK). The latter owns an 89,999% stake in the plant, Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources - 4,496%, Gazprom Armenia CJSC (previously ArmRusgasprom) - 3,596%, and Yerevan Thermal Power Plant - 1,907%. The current debt of the Plant is 130 mln USD.