Resignations of female politicians and dismissals

On the night of November 9, the Armenian society was shocked. The war ended with the defeat of the Armenian side and the signing of the act of capitulation. Just before midnight, the text of the statement was published on the official page of the Russian President, according to which even Karvachar, Kashatagh, Aghdam, Martakert villages, which were not captured by the enemy, were handed over to Azerbaijan.

As further developments and resignations showed, the signing of the trilateral statement was unexpected not only for the society, but also for the president, state officials and even the deputies of the ruling faction, which, by the way, does not fit within the logic of the parliamentary state.

Days after the announcement, four deputies left the ruling “My Step” faction, three of whom were women, two of them were journalists, one was a host.

Former journalist Gayane Abrahamyan announced on her Facebook post on the night of November 16^th  that she considers her work as an MP exhausted.

It should be noted that Abrahamyan’s statement was preceded by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s overnight post, which many, including the Human Rights Defender, described as extremely dangerous in terms of inciting civil strife.

The former deputy has already announced that her activity in the coming years, as a strict priority, will be aimed at the recovery of wounded soldiers.

On the night of November 16^th  journalist Taguhi Tovmasyan announced the decision to leave the “My Step” faction. Later she announced from the NA tribune, she learned about the announcement from the press, the next day she left for Artsakh, had meetings, saw only pain and disappointment there. And explained that the decision to leave the faction is a protest against her lost homeland, uncertainty and inability.

By the way, during a question and answer session with the Government on November 18, MP Taguhi Tovmasyan inquired about the fate of the Sotk gold mine in her constituency.

On the night of November 16, Lusine Badalyan from the “My Step” faction announced her readiness to resign.

“During the last nightmarish days, I hoped that we could change something, reap the maximum in the current situation, for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia, with cold judgment, with united force, for that I was ready to invest everything, because the country is in great danger, because internal stability is the most important thing! If “My Step” does not take immediate action at this very moment, I resign. Thank you for your understanding.

As of November 26, Lusine Badalyan’s name was still included in the list of deputies of the “My Step” faction, but she did not participate in the sitting of the same day.

It is noteworthy that these resignations were followed by the message of the Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan that he was addressed by one of the deputies of the “My Step” faction of the RA National Assembly, who made a political statement criticizing the post of the RA Prime Minister. According to the MP, he/she started receiving threats in this connection, including killing him/her.

“The ombudsman strongly condemns this dangerous phenomenon. The police must take immediate measures to ensure the personal protection of a member of the National Assembly. The Defender will immediately provide the deputy’s information to the Police. “The issues of personal security of the deputies will be in the center of direct attention of the Human Rights Defender and under control, with the maximum possibilities of legal status,” Arman Tatoyan stated.

In a conversation with NEWS.am, Sofya Hovsepyan, answering the question whether in the current situation she sees grounds for leaving the faction, said ․

“Of course, there is a basis. The basis is the well-known document and the phenomenon, but I want to understand whether I will continue to serve the state and the problems of the state or not. Of course, leaving the faction or not will not change that phenomenon, but is that the priority now or will we continue to find solutions to the transfer, accommodation and other issues in the current situation? ”

At the November 24 sitting of the Yerevan Council of Elders, it was announced that two applications had been submitted to leave the “My Step” faction. One of the authors of the applications was Isabella Abgaryan, who wrote on her Facebook page. “I made a decision to resign in May. Both my team and the mayor knew that I had problems. But I was expecting to attend the discussion of my long-standing proposal, which was to take place in October. My problems were not related to either the mayor or my faction. They were much deeper. I did not think it was right to remain in the team, to criticize regularly, it was even harder to remain silent. I was committed to the principles and agenda of the revolution, I saw problems with the implementation of those principles and the agenda. Keeping silent even after the war would mean hiding. The war made me decide not to go, but to stay. I could not leave Yerevan during the difficult days. ”

On November 16, Deputy Minister of Environment Irina Ghaplanyan submitted an application for dismissal.

“Dear compatriots, dear friends. I have applied for resignation from the post of Deputy Minister of Environment. Serving my country and nation was the greatest honor of my life. “Thank you for the trust,” the deputy minister stated.

On the same day, Ashkhen Beglaryan, Head of the Political, Social and Economic Security Department of the Security Council, resigned from her post according to her own application. She informed about it on her Facebook page. “According to my own application, I have resigned from the post of the head of the Security Council office.

On November 10, when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the capitulation document signed with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Narine Khachaturyan, in her words, resigned. So far, however, no steps have been taken in that direction.

“Honestly, I said that I was going to leave, but in conversations with my colleagues, as well as other deputy ministers, I understood that at the moment we have a lot of work to do, we just cannot dismantle the structure. There is really a lot to do, especially now. However, leaving the ministry is in my mind, it is even on paper that it can be published in a second. But I repeat, we discussed and understood that at this moment it would be right to just act, putting that paper on the table is always there. “I am psychologically ready for that,” Narine Khachaturyan told 168.am.

It should be noted that along with the voluntary resignations, on November 16, after the question and answer session of the deputies in the National Assembly with the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, new dismissals started in the executive. It was during his speech that the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced his resignation, the Ministers of Defense, Emergency Situations, Education, Culture and Sport; Economy, Labor and Social Affairs were replaced, followed by the Deputy Ministers.

Thus, the only woman minister in the executive, Zaruhi Batoyan, was relieved of her post by the decree of the RA President, the proposal was made by the Prime Minister. Mesrop Arakelyan, a former adviser to the Prime Minister, was appointed as a new Minister.

On November 24, by the decision of the RA Prime Minister, Naira Margaryan was relieved of the post of Deputy Minister of Economy.

The resignation of ministers were followed by that of their spokespersons – Foreign Minister spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan, who worked 24 hours a day during the war and in the following days, Shushan Stepanyan – Defense Ministry spokeswoman, Sona Martirosyan –  Spokeswoman of Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, and Anna Ohanyan –  spokeswoman of Minister of Economy.

Taking into account the social, humanitarian, economic, political, security and other issues created in the country after the war and especially after the signing of the trilateral statement, the personnel changes will continue.

Full text in Armenian