Contract of Employee at President-Headed Foundation Terminated During Mobilization Announcement by Ministry of Defense

Special educator David Harutyunyan, who has worked for about 4 years at the "Yerevan My Love" foundation led by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, has sent an open letter to the President, stating that his contract was terminated during the announcement of mobilization by the Ministry of Defense. According to him, there is an outflow of employees, about which the chairman of the foundation's council, Armen Sarkissian, is unaware. The open letter reads as follows:

“Since the President of the Republic, Armen Sarkissian, is made untouchable by his own subordinates, I, a specialist who has worked for about 4 years at the Luce Social Rehabilitation Center of the "Yerevan My Love" foundation, decided to publicize to the President of the Republic and everyone what is actually happening at the Luce Center, which has a good reputation, hoping that Armen Sarkissian will personally attend to the resolution of the issues.

My employment/legal contract was terminated during the announcement of mobilization by the Ministry of Defense. There have been salary deductions starting from 3,000 drams. These have been periodic, and there is written evidence. I can provide it if necessary. We have worked on holidays, weekends, and non-working days, as well as overtime, and we were not paid for this, meaning we were paid as usual.

I and other employees were sent on forced leave, while the director of the center has selectively called back only her close employees. There is an outflow of employees and a reduction in the number of specialists. For example, currently, there is only one occupational therapist instead of the previous three, and even that one is not full-time. The director of the Luce Center, Gohar Galstyan, has dismissed the special educator responsible for the cognitive development of children, which has caused significant dissatisfaction among the parents of the children visiting the Luce Center. Numerous correspondences exist proving parents' grievances.

Moreover, some parents are even willing to speak on camera about all the issues they have observed in the "Yerevan My Love" foundation's children's center in recent months. A highly qualified specialist in the field of music has also left the Luce Center, and now they have hired an entirely new employee. On October 1, another specialist is leaving.

By the way, everyone is warned that if they express dissatisfaction and join the letter addressed to the president, they will face serious legal problems. The director of the Luce Center, Gohar Galstyan, refers to us as specialists working for bologna, but parents insist that Gohar receives larger gifts, including more expensive chocolates, apples from villages, cakes, and presents. None of the specialists working with the children have personal sanitary (medical) books, which are mandatory for workers in this field.

During visits by the first lady of the Republic, members of the government, MPs, and ambassadors accredited in Armenia, children are transferred from the Zatik children’s support center to the Luce Center to show the first lady of the Republic and the diplomats, ministers, and MPs a large number of participating children, as if that many children are currently receiving socio-rehabilitation services at the Luce Center. The reason they choose Zatik is that the management there is quite close to Gohar Galstyan.

I have requested to provide a certificate from the workplace, but it has not been provided. The deputy director of the "Yerevan My Love" foundation explained that a certificate would only be provided if I sign the termination agreement of the contract.

There are audio recordings where Gohar Galstyan lies to a parent, saying that I have left Armenia and that we have a mutual agreement regarding the termination of the contract. In the winter of 2020, Gohar Galstyan forced me to write a letter against the then-director of the "Yerevan My Love" foundation, Arshak Karapetyan. I refused to sign under that letter, after which Gohar Galstyan's relationship with me and other employees who did not join the letter deteriorated. I can also provide this letter.

Sometimes one child receives more services than planned over several quarters, while some children wait for years. However, after appealing to the Human Rights Defender or certain officials, problems are resolved, and they get the opportunity to access therapeutic services. Conversely, the director of the Luce Center has turned the "Yerevan My Love" foundation into a wonderful place for family leisure. Four family members, including three children, often visit the foundation, eat, spend time, utilize the center's resources, games, and even sleep there, sometimes with a nanny.

The director of the foundation, Gagik Arzumanyan, who was formerly the Deputy Minister of Finance and is also linked to the exploitation of the Teghut mine and deforestation, is aware of the issues but is rarely present at the foundation. Therefore, I wrote a letter to him, but Arzumanyan has not responded to any of my written letters, including the registered letter sent via postal service. The deputy director of the foundation, as well as Karen Ter-Martirosyan, who deals with household issues, and the secretary of Armen Sarkissian's office, Naira Makaryan, are also aware of the issues.

When the leadership of the foundation received reports that I intended to appeal to the president with an open letter, they are trying to invite the parents of children attending the Luce Center for discussions, fearing they might express dissatisfaction. Even a child who has been ill with chickenpox is invited under the pretext of filming for some video.

Dear Mr. President, I can provide evidence regarding all the issues mentioned in the letter. I kindly ask you to take action on this letter.”