Vanadzor Mayor, “Tell those who said that, Son of a Donkey”
10:23, February 13, 2013 | News | Electoral RightsOn February 3 a warning call was received from Raffi Hovhannisian’s pre-election campaign headquarters that during Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Vanadzor, teachers and kindergarten personnel from a number of schools and kindergartens of Vanadzor were mandatorily sent by the heads of those institutions to the meeting with Serzh Sargsyan at the expense of classes. The classes were cancelled. The source preferred to remain unknown. https://iditord.org/reports/view/1431
However, Artur Sakunts confirms the authenticity of the information in an interview with Aravot.am, “During his visit in Vanadzor which was accompanied by mass forcing of teachers and kindergarten personnel to attend the meeting, even the course of trainings were upset. It is impossible to imagine that such a thing could have happened in case of another presidential candidate. The whole educational system is subject to the Government. Teachers and school principals are all republicans. Equal competition is out of the question when there is such an application of state, human, financial and political recourses. Therefore, it doesn’t correspond to the reality, Serzh Sargsyan is engaged in lies”, stated Sakunts.
http://www.aravot.am/2013/02/05/157953/:
We had a phone conversation with a teacher (who preferred to remain anonymous) from #3 school regarding the aforementioned warning, who had participated in the meeting with RA presidential candidate Serzh Sargsyan.
– Is it true that the classes in Vanadzor schools and kindergartens ended early, while the teachers and principals were forced to partake in the meeting with RA presidential candidate Serzh Sargsyan?
-Yes. We had been told to mandatorily attend the meeting. Well, to some extent, we were also curious to listen what the President was going to say.
– Were you impressed and satisfied by the President’s speech?
– Well, yes, the speech was good, but…
– Didn’t you have concerns related to your city, job and country? Did you voice about it through questions?
There was no response. A voice was heard from aside which said, “She is shrugging shoulders.”
We also had a phone conversation with Vanadzor Mayor Samvel Darbinyan regarding the same warning call.
– Whoever told you such things should go beat his head to stones. And call him a son of a donkey who makes such an irresponsible statement… A child in the kindergarten goes to sleep at this hour, which kindergarten educator or nanny would venture to leave a sleeping child and go to the meeting.
– Mr. Darbinyan, it isn’t that the children were left alone, simply the working process in those institutions failed on that day.
– The children’s participation in the election process is strictly prohibited by law. How can they be allowed to involve children in the election campaign? I don’t recommend anyone to blame figments on us. We are holding very transparent, normal and legal elections. There were so many people in our city that didn’t fit inside the hall: over 3000 people had to leave. We didn’t encounter such a problem to have mingled teachers and kindergarten education in the elections. It is out of the question.
– The fact was recorded by Artur Sakunts, Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor and a teacher who preferred to me anonymous.
– He is desperately wrong, if there was no such a fact, how could he have fixed it? We strictly follow the incumbent president’s advice to hold free and fair elections. Some people simply want to blacken the colors. Let them be courageous and voice out loud that at this milestone Armenia has achieved a victory and is capable of holding normal and fair elections without breaking the Electoral Code. At least, this time, there is no need for a violation, is there? Let us only once be honest and admit that the truth already takes a lead and wins in our country.
Lori region Governor stated his standpoint regarding the heated issue via a phone conversation.
– There was no open-air meeting held in our region and nobody had a chance to hold a flag. Nothing of the kind happened in our region. The video cameras have fixed it from a million of angles that there was no underage child holding a flag either in the hall or outside of it.
“If the classes in any of the schools failed, I will punish the principal of that school, but it is out of the question that such a thing could have occurred in our region. And besides, our regional meetings were all held at a very late hour, when the classes at schools were over. The meeting in Vanadzor took place in our Sports and Concert hall at 5 p.m. There is no point mentioning about classes. The meeting in Alaverdi was held at 7 p.m. and one at 3:30 p.m. in another school. What are you talking about?”
Before the launching of the election campaign, CEC informed all of the RA regional governors and Yerevan city Mayor regarding the exclusion of any sort of political activities and unobstructed organization of the educational process at educational institutions.
The RA Electoral Code, however, doesn’t precisely prohibit or define the exclusion of any sort of political activities and unobstructed organization of the educational process at educational institutions.
Point 6 of Article 18 of Section 5 of RA Electoral Code on Basic Principles for Pre-Election Campaign defines, “State and local self-governing bodies, as well as state and community officials, staff of educational institutions while performing their official duties.”
In conformity with the requirements of the same section of RA Electoral Code, CEC posted the recommendations received from Regional Governors and Yerevan Mayor at its webpage regarding the free of charge use of the halls by the presidential candidates. Some of those halls are located at schools as prescribed by law. Tigran Mukuchyan, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of RA also confirmed this information in an interview with us.
Those school principals or heads of educational institutions, who shall break the aforementioned order will be held liable pursuant to the law prescription on improper performance of labor duties of RA Labor Code, which envisions disciplinary sanctions including reprimand, several reprimand and reprimand with a last chance warning.