Protesters in Armenia demand resignation of education minister
A group of people have started protesting outside the building of the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports on Monday, demanding the resignation of Minister Arayik Harutyunyan.
The protesters are not happy with the policies pursued by the minister. They insist that Arayik Harutyunyan has no right to “touch the history and religion of the Armenian nation.”
They are chanting slogans including: “Arayik, go away!”, “Arayik, you betrayed your homeland!” and “Arayik, you renounced your religion, go away!”.
This is not the first time members of Kamk (Will) NGO have organized a protest demanding the minister’s resignation. They claim their struggle is apolitical and is simply aimed at preserving the Armenian identity and national values.
At the same time, Arayik Harutyunyan said that the protesters and those demanding his resignation either have no insight into general education and its standards, or pretend to be unaware of them.
The demonstrators do not rule out that they may soon demand not only the minister’s, but also the entire government’s resignation.
Tigran Chobanyan, one of the organizers of the protest, urged its participants to practice social distancing, wear face masks and avoid conflict with police officers.
One of the protesters stressed the decisions adopted by the education authorities are simply aimed at “destroying, disrupting and perverting our entire education system, starting from schools to universities.”
According to the protesters, the incumbent government intends to destroy the Armenian national values.
"Taking advantage of his position, Arayik Harutyunyan spares no effort to disrupt such spheres representing our country, as culture, science and sports. We immediately demand the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, as he has nothing to do with the Armenian system of values," the protesters stress.