From 1 to 10 September, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the President of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan’s personality and activities. 35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 203 articles were declared, 15 of which were negative, 1 was positive and 187 were neutral.
The NA Speaker’s activity of this ten-day period was also assessed as negative. President of the “Civic Consciousness” NGO, Narek Samsonyan complained about the NA activities. According to him, it is improper to work in the National Assembly with short pants or sneakers, considering the style of one of the NA employees. He thinks that all this is the result of Ararat Mirzoyan’s connivance.
The news outlets note that, the NA deputy, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Health and Social Affairs Narek Zeynalyan has indirectly joined the scandal related to Arsen Torosyan, actually acting against Arsen Torosyan. According to the news agency, Narek Zeynalyan is one of the most reliable people in Ararat Mirzoyan’s “My Step” alliance and is the godfather of the NA Speaker’s children.
It is also noted that when being interviewed by the international media, Ararat Mirzoyan and Nikol Pashinyan express different opinions on the same issue. For example, the Prime Minister gives an interview to a foreign magazine, noting that he and the authorities in Artsakh have different approaches to different issues and there are some difficulties, while Ararat Mirzoyan in his interview with foreign media blames those who question the unity of the Artsakh and Armenian authorities.
“Sasna Tsrer” party thinks that September 2nd, that is, Atsakh’s Independence Day, is a false agenda. Their publication states that Ararat Mirzoyan participates in “events dedicated to false independence”.
