Our Movement is Exclusively Ideological: Member of the ARF Youth Union

We can only reach a solution to the issue through public consolidation, and therefore we are open to cooperation with all forces that do not have principled and tactical disagreements, and whose only agenda is the resignation of the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports. This was stated by Kristine Vardanyan, a member of the ARF Youth Union Central Committee, during a march organized by the ARF Youth Union.

In response to the question of why prolonged protests have not been held, Vardanyan first mentioned that this is a continuation of the struggle that began 11 months ago, adding that they had only paused their actions due to the pandemic situation. However, she emphasized that they were 'in touch with the pulse': “This issue has not left our agenda nor given up its place. The same determination, if not doubled, at least remains the same,” she said.

According to Vardanyan, every time a voice of protest rises, Minister Harutyunyan threatens with criminal cases, which, according to her, indicates that the minister is hiding alleged violations and using them against his political opponents. “We are not constrained by any criminal case. Whoever has violated the law in Armenia must answer under the right to a fair trial. We reject compromise politics,” she stated.

In response to the remark that the Minister of Education stated that those carrying out the protest are simply tired and have returned, Vardanyan replied: “Our movement is exclusively ideological, and we cannot understand the mockery when raising ideological issues. We are talking about the future of Armenia, and there can be no talk of retreat. We call on those groups that have suffered from the political course in these two years to definitely join us and raise their voices in protest,” Kristine Vardanyan said.