Critical articles have been declared on Lilit Makunts

From 1 to 10 October, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Lilit Makunts’s personality and activities.

35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.

In the specified period, 245 articles were declared, 17 of which were negative, 1 was positive and 227 were neutral.

Lilit Makunts, the head of the RA NA “My Step” fraction, has again received mainly critical, rather than positive publications.

Former Founding Parliament Press Secretary, President of “Women for Democracy” NGO Syuzanna Simonyan expressed her anger at Lilit Makunts addressing her statement on Artsakh. Mrs. Simonyan wrote on her Facebook page: “Hey you, self-proclaimed Makunts, at first the culture was within you, then the NA was within you, now it turns out that Artsakh is within you? Don’t forget that you hold your position only because of being Nikol’s English teacher. Who are you, what have you done for this country, who has known you before holding your position? Who are you to be endowed with a right to speak on behalf of us all and ignore the blood of thousands of Armenians?” Mrs. Simonyan added: “Nikol, don’t you see that Lilit Makunts and Vitaly Balasanyan say the same thing? That is, Artsakh is a separate state and Armenia should not interfere in its internal affairs.”

According to the media publications, Mrs. Makunts’s father, Kamo Makunts, has Pan-Armenian National Movement (PANM) and Armenian National Congress (ANC) roots. In 2012 During the parliamentary elections he was the coordinator of one of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s Erebuni campaign offices. It is also noted that in those same elections Lilit Makunts reached the 59th position in the proportional list of the Armenian National Congress.

Lilit Makunts noted that she had spoken with Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) member Arman Abovyan about discussion on the termination of CC President Hrayr Tovmasyan’s power and noted that she thought Arman Abovyan would inform the fraction. Arman Abovyan, in his turn, noted that Lilit Makunts told about the document during their informal conversation, but there was no official invitation to discuss the document with the PAP fraction.

The publication, noting that one of the 4 most trusted people for the prime minister, is Lilit Makunts, was assessed as positive.