Yerevan protesters demand not to liquidate ministries

The decision to liquidate the Armenian Ministry of the Diaspora and reorganize the Ministry of Culture is erroneous and will result in staff reductions and move the problems of culture and interaction with the Diaspora to the background, employees of the Ministries have stated today at the protest action.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 19, Acting Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, did not rule out the reducing of the number of ministries from 17 down to 12.

The Ministry of the Diaspora will be liquidated, and the Ministries of Culture, Sport and Youth Matters will be merged with the Ministry of Education and Science," the "Sputnik-Armenia" reports today.

This morning, employees of the Ministry of Culture went on strike, protesting against the plans of the government. Later, employees of the Ministry of the Diaspora joined them. According to the organizers, about 100 people took part in the action, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The protesters handed over a written appeal to Nikol Pashinyan and demanded a meeting with the head of the Cabinet of Ministers. They announced that should they fail to receive a response to their appeal by December 24, the protest action would be resumed.

The merger of the ministries will lower the role of the Ministry of Culture and push the cultural sphere to the background, Arutyun Vanyan, an employee of the Ministry of Culture, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by telephone.

After the liquidation of the ministry, about 90 employees will lose their workplaces, Levon Antonyan, the head of the department for the Armenian communities of the Near and Middle East of the Ministry of the Diaspora, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Given the multi-million Diaspora, the existence of the ministry is of strategic importance for Armenia," said Antonyan.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 21, 2018 at 10:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.