Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports on Incident in Gyumri

On June 1, no one was prohibited from performing in Gyumri, and if someone decided not to perform, that is their problem. This was stated by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Zhanna Andreasyan, during the discussion of the annual report on the implementation of the Republic of Armenia's 2023 state budget, addressing the incident regarding the cancellation of a concert in Gyumri.

Previously, it was reported that ahead of Bishop Bagrat's visit on June 1, the stage for a children's concert had been dismantled. Maria Galstyan, the director of the Tavush Diocese's “Taluyts” choir, mentioned that Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Daniel Danielyan called and instructed that the concert should start earlier than planned. Participants explained that this was not possible. After that, the stage was simply dismantled. According to witnesses, the concert did not take place, while the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports published photos of the main rehearsal and announced that the concert had been held.

Additionally, Tomás Arakelyan, the producer of the “Taluyts” choir, stated that Deputy Minister Daniel Danielyan spoke to him in a rude manner and insulted him, referring to the clergy member's robe as "deria".

Opposition MP Arthur Khachatryan posed a question to the minister: how is it possible that ahead of the visit of Bishop Bagrat in Gyumri, the Deputy Minister prohibited the children of the “Taluyts” choir from singing and uttered insults directed at the clergy?

“What you are citing is completely false, no one has been prohibited from performing, and if someone has decided not to perform, that is their problem, and blaming any organization for that is simply unfair. As for the insults, they have come from entirely different sides and towards us. Representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports do not insult others, and such a thing simply did not happen,” said the minister.

It is also noteworthy that Tomás Arakelyan stated that a concert was organized without the “Taluyts” choir, and it took place not at the Theatre Square as planned, but in the auditorium of the Dramatic Theatre. According to the producer, there was no audience, and only the parents of the children were present.