Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan said during a campaign meeting in the town of Yeghegnadzor in Vayots Dzor province that Armenia needs guaranteed peace, arguing that “there is no peace today, only an agreement.”
“Today, the necessity is peace. Our people must know there will be no more war, that there is peace, that the door to war is closed so they can focus on their lives and work. That is the guaranteed peace we have developed and are ready to secure. Today they say there is peace, but dear people, there is no peace, there is only an agreement. In the case of peace, there must be a signed paper, a document, not daily proposals being put forward,” Tsarukyan said, according to Panorama.am .
He expressed confidence that there are no impossible or unsolvable problems.
“Today, people are tired of hearing insults, abuse, labels and empty talk. People want solutions to their problems,” Tsarukyan said.
He also addressed healthcare and other social issues.
“Healthcare should be free today, education should be free, and pensions should be at least 78,000 drams instead of the current 49,000 or 59,000.
Another issue is loans. Today, the entire nation is burdened by debt. There was an economic crisis, there was coronavirus and a pandemic, people did not work for two or three years, and there was war. People accumulated debts simply to survive and receive treatment. The state should immediately forgive loans of up to 3 million drams. Today public debt has risen from $8 billion to $15 billion. Over eight years it increased by $1 billion annually, yet neither jobs increased nor did people feel improvements in daily life. On the contrary, prices, property taxes and everything else have increased, while people’s conditions have worsened,” Tsarukyan said.
Speaking about agriculture, he said farmers had been left without support after the Agriculture Ministry was dissolved.
“These people cultivate land, create value and produce goods — who should they turn to? They turn to no one and sit helplessly by the walls. There is nobody to help them. There are no medicines, fertilizers or nitrate supplies, nothing at all. That is why villages are becoming emptier. They say they built schools, they built palaces. Out of 259 schools promised over eight years, only 50 were built and just 26 of them were completed. Meanwhile, 230 schools are closing this year because people are leaving the regions for Yerevan. It should have been the opposite — people should have been given opportunities to organize work properly,” the Prosperous Armenia leader said.
Tsarukyan stated that his political force has both a program and a strong team capable of solving the existing problems.
“Today $700 million has been allocated from the budget for healthcare, but are people satisfied with healthcare? Can you go and get treated? The money has been allocated, but people still cannot receive treatment. This means the approach is wrong — a free system should be introduced,” the politician said.
He added that every meeting is important to him.
“When I see people’s trust and warm attitude, I feel even greater responsibility to meet their expectations. In Vayots Dzor, one of the biggest concerns for people is the country’s security. People want a peaceful, safe and stable future,” Gagik Tsarukyan wrote.
The election campaign that began on May 8 will continue until June 5. June 6 will be a day of silence, and elections will be held on June 7. On May 25, it became known that the Alliance Progressive Centrist Party had submitted a self-withdrawal request, based on which the Central Electoral Commission invalidated the registration of the party’s electoral list. Ballot number 13 will not appear in the upcoming elections.
