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