Dispute over Ararat Cement plant escalates in Armenia VIDEO

Dispute over Armenia’s Ararat Cement plant has escalated after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that it will soon come under state ownership.

Ararat Cement was owned by businessman and Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, who was detained on July 6 and taken to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Armenia accuses Tsarukyan’s sports complex of hiding millions in unpaid taxes. He has also been charged with organising large-scale fraud and money laundering.

Pashinyan suggested that ongoing protests surrounding the company were orchestrated and urged people not to become part of what he described as political games.

"Yes, I am threatening them, essentially," the prime minister said in response to a follow-up question from a journalist.

The remarks came after employees of the Ararat Cement plant staged protests, opened the factory gates and entered the facility's premises.

Workers said that if the government intended to appoint a temporary administrator to oversee the plant, it should proceed with the move, but stressed that they should be allowed to continue working and not suffer as a result of the process.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov