The skirmish between Suren Zolyan and Armen Ashotyan is the most burning subject of last month. www.aravot.am inquired from the Minister of Education and Science whether the Brusov Story didn’t harm the reputation of Minister of Education and Science, politician Armen Ashotyan.
“Such an opinion is publicly expressed by very concrete persons not visible for me and having socio-political interests and contacts, whose ‘concern’ about the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and me personally is just astounding. I just have to wish them strong nerves and healthy heart and assure them that they shouldn’t be concerned about us. As for the speculations that problems may arise concerning the Council of Europe and we have violated the Regional or Minority Languages Convention, let me stress that what has happened has nothing to do with Suren Zolyan’s work as an expert, preventing his expert activity in the field of language policy or interfering with his activities. Moreover, the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Education and Science are interested in Suren Zolyan’s staying in the Council of Europe as an expert in language policy and working in that field as a good specialist. The issue refers only to working relations and is regulated in the legal field. I am sorry that they try to use the reputation in the Council of Europe and sometimes also personal contacts to conceal problems that are in absolutely different field. I am convinced that European institutions will clearly distinguish these two spheres,” communicated the minister.
He asserted that Armenia had an educational development program with the Council of Europe; he had discussed further development of the field of education, personally meeting with the Secretary General in Strasburg in 2010. After that, according to Armen Ashotyan, many important projects have been included in the national action plan of the Council of Europe.
In response to our observation that regardless of the Brusov University rector election to be held on June 12, there would be speculations, Armen Ashotyan said, “The public has been interested in and mass media have paid attention to this story for 20 days already. The Ministry of Education and Science has used the authority given to it by the law and if there are disagreements, the way to express it is not different lobbyist correspondences and statements, which perhaps are touching, but cannot have legal effects, but the court. Another fact too – everyone is equal before the law, from the minister to the university custodian and rector.”
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We talked also about students’ support for their rector during our conversation. “There are thousands of students at the university, the students involved in these actions account for a
certain percentage and do not include all students, although every student’s opinion is important for me. That part of the students should understand that they study not for me, but for themselves.”
Gohar HAKOBYAN
