Stepanakert protesters threaten authorities with new protests

On September 18, in Stepanakert, about 15 members of the "Moyo Pravo" (My Law) movement held a protest action, demanding from the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) to provide reliable information on the budget, distribution of national property and tax amount of major corporations.

The activists' action was held in the central Renaissance Square in Stepanakert, in front of the buildings of NKR's Parliament and President's residence. None of state officials came to meet the protesters, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Arthur Osipyan, one of the leaders of the "Moyo Pravo" movement, who is also the chairman of the NKR's oppositional Revolutionary Party, has stated that the republic's authorities refuse to provide full information about the budget. "We sent several dozen letters to the government demanding to provide us with complete and reliable information, but our demands to [the authorities] were ignored or partially fulfilled; or they provided false information," Mr Osipyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He explained that the point is in the incomes and taxes of the banking system, the mining and communications industry, the investment funds, the sectors of energy, urban planning and exports of capitals from the country. 'We want also to know about the republic's budgetary policy as a whole – about budgetary guarantees, government subsidies and interstate debt,' he added.

The activist has stated that if the NKR's authorities fail to provide the comprehensive information by 6:00 p.m. local time on September 19, activists will again go out to a protest action.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 19, 2020 at 07:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.