Lusine Badalyan: “We have been given the opportunity today to make serious changes”

Our interlocutor is a hostess Lusine Badalyan, who is in the 6th place of the “My Step” bloc in the snap elections of Yerevan Council of Elders.

– Lusine, how did you decide to join the “Civil Treaty” in Yerevan City Council elections?

 – The coming of that decision, in fact, has a prehistoric background. I joined the civil action, the active struggle since 2011-2012. This was just the logical solution to the whole process of the struggle. The direct problem is that during the previous authorities, the struggle for me could only be against them. The situation is different today. Today, people have come to power with whom we’ve been fighting side by side for years. Of course, today the field of struggle has changed. It’s time to come up with issues not only to raise questions, but also to work. Today is the time to solve problems in practice.

–  I assume you have had suggestions from different political forces in the past. It was not tempting to accept them and to fight inside, to change the situation.

– Yes, there have been many times, but I preferred the way to fight against the authorities. To be honest, I had many friends who thought it was possible to fight against the system, to change something. I myself believed that they had entered the system to reform it. In fact, however, I have witnessed many painful consequences. It turned out that the system changed my friends, not vice versa. I hope that from the human point of view, changes in them are not irreversible.

– In this context don’t you worry that the same can be repeated with you?

– No I do not have: Perhaps it is pride, but for me and some of my friends, I’m just sure that something like that will not happen to us. I’m convinced that this kind of thing is not threatened. This is not an end in itself. This is the result of a fundamental struggle, which is also an opportunity to defend those principles.

– You mentioned that you have been active in civil struggle since 2011-2012. Can you remember the day you understood that you cannot keep silent anymore?

– I have always been extremely rebellious in nature, fighting against injustice is a line of character. I just could not. Generally speaking, in the years that followed, Facebook created a new platform for public opinion expression and consolidation of supporters. In those years, I realized that for me, by listening to a number of important, principled issues, I was able to give a certain sound to them.

– Lusine, what is the key issue for you in Yerevan?

– Unequivocally balanced development of the city. For me the balanced development of all the administrative districts of Yerevan is of paramount importance. My dream is that the outskirts of the city will not be different from the center. Only in this way one will stop consider the idea of being in the center of the city an advantage. Every administrative district in Yerevan should be able to compete with the center, with external appearance, infrastructure, cultural and educational opportunities.

Full text in Armenian