Any person involved in corruption deals will be held responsible - MP

ArmInfo. In Armenia, any person involved in corrupt transactions, regardless of their last name and first name, political affiliation, will be punished accordingly. Secretary of the ruling Civil Contract faction Artur Hovhannisyan  stated this at a briefing in the National Assembly of the Republic of  Armenia on May 16, commenting on the reasons for the resignation of  Echmiadzin Mayor Diana Gasparyan.

The previous evening, the mayor of Echmiadzin made a statement in  which she announced her resignation.  As the reason, she indicated  the need to devote herself to family life. Meanwhile, in March of  this year, the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia  initiated proceedings based on publications in the Armenian media. In  particular, the matter concerned a contract concluded by the city  administration with the company of Diana Gasparyan's father-in-law in  the amount of 13.6 million drams for the supply of liquefied gas for  the city administration. In addition, the mayor's husband, Aramayis  Mirzoyan, who is a member of the ruling party in the country, became  a member of the Council of Elders of Echmiadzin. But this was not  enough: it turned out that Diana Gasparyan's mother had started  illegal construction in Echmiadzin.

Answering journalists' questions about whether this topic was  discussed in the board of the Civil Contract party, Hovhannisyan  noted that he is not a member of the board and cannot answer this  question. He did not comment on Diana Gasparyan's statement either,  adding only that all persons involved in criminal transactions will  be punished to the fullest extent of the law, especially if we are  talking about representatives of the ruling team.

Diana Gasparyan reported on her Facebook page that she spent a lot of  time working due to her busy schedule. "I think the time has come  when I will have to make a choice between devoting all my time to my  newly created family and a small child, and fulfilling the difficult  duties of a community leader. I would like to inform you that at this  stage of my life I have made a difficult decision to dedicate myself  to a quiet family life, raising a child and expanding my family.  Therefore, in the near future I will resign from my position as a  member of the Vagharshapat Council of Elders and will no longer hold  the position of community leader. I would like to thank those who  trust and believe in me. You gave me the strength and desire to work,  even those who criticize me. You have multiplied this strength and  desire a thousand times.  Every stage in life has a beginning and an  end, and at this moment I feel that the time has come to end this  most important stage of my life and begin a new one. I also want to  thank my political team, the Civil Contract party and Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan for trusting this inexperienced girl in 2018 and  being by her side all these seven years," - Diana Gasparyan said in a  statement.

On June 22, 2018, which already seems distant, by the decision of  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, I was appointed acting head of the  Vagharshapat community, and from that day on, a crazy seven-year  journey began, full of difficulties, trials, obstacles, but at the  same time valuable achievements, victories and accomplishments. I can  characterize the last seven years as the most important period of my  life, which in many ways shaped me as a person, citizen and leader, a  period during which I both gained and lost a lot. I consider it  immodest to talk about achievements as a public leader, since I  believe that a leader should be spoken of by his actions. During  these seven years, our community has transformed before our eyes,  colossal work has been done, and to be convinced of this, it is  enough to simply mentally transport yourself to pre-revolutionary  Echmiadzin.

About losses. Over the past seven years, my greatest loss has been  the time I could have spent with my family and relatives, but back in  March, the Corruption Prevention Commission opened proceedings  against me following media reports that said