EVN Talks

Last week, Armenia’s Government introduced Bill C-894 on reforming the Electoral Code, a process that had begun in the summer of 2018. Hamazasp Danielyan, a Member of Parliament from the ruling My Step faction and coordinator of the Working Group on Electoral Code Reforms spoke about the importance of ensuring the bill, through consensus, becomes law before the looming snap parliamentary elections in June.

Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution, a group of civic activists came together and formed the Citizen’s Decision Social Democratic Party. Gor Hakobyan, Secretary of the Executive Board of the party says their objective was to be part of the country’s political processes. He talks to EVN Report about the need to change the political culture in Armenia, especially in the current polarized political climate following the 2020 Artsakh War. Instead of finding solutions and devising strategies, the “two sides” are blaming one another, he says.

Inga Harutyunyan is the founder and executive director of Pahapan Development Foundation that implements sustainable projects in borderline regions, primarily in Tavush, to ensure economic prosperity, welfare and safety. She spoke about a number of their projects, including building playground shelters for children. Harutyunyan is also the advisor to the Governor of Tavush and explained how their model of coordinating development aid to mitigate overlaps and duplication has led to more efficient delivery of services.

Amalya Yeghoyan, Project Manager of Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), speaks about a number of their programs including women’s entrepreneurship, programming courses for veterans of the 2020 Artsakh War and the recently launched Armenian Engineering City.

Arthur Khachatryan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s Supreme Body says that the Homeland Salvation Movement, an alliance of opposition political parties that came together during the 2020 Artsakh War, will continue applying pressure, holdin

Edmon Marukyan, leader of the parliamentary opposition Bright Armenia Party speaks about the current political crisis in the country following Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War. He says that resolving the political crisis must be a priority before dealing with the humanitarian, social and economic crises.

Armen Orujyan, the founding CEO of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) speaks about their initiative with Armenia’s Ministry of Defense called UNIT 1991. The program will provide people of conscription age with education and knowledge in data science and AI giving them the opportunity to be employed by the Defense Ministry in respective divisions or in leading high-tech enterprises.

In 2018, writer and journalist Valerie Manteau published a novel in French called “Le Sillon” dedicated to Hrant Dink who was assassinated in Istanbul in 2007 by a Turkish ultra-nationalist. Manteau, who was in Yerevan for the launch of the Armenian translation of her novel, spoke about the journey of finding Dink that took her from Marseilles to Istanbul.

Arman Tatoyan, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender spoke to EVN Report about Azerbaijan’s criminal politicization of the release and return of Armenia POWs following the 2020 Artsakh War; the gross violations of the rule of law and human rights in the demarcation process of Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan; Armenophobia and hate speech at the state level in Azerbaijan; the fate of IDPs and the threat to Armenian historic, cultural and religious monuments now under Azerbaijani control.

Zara Amatuni, Communications Manager and Spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross spoke to EVN Report about the role of the ICRC during and after the 2020 Artsakh War, including retrieval and transfer of bodies, missing persons, prisoners of war and the challenges associated with these processes.