From 11 to 20 November, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the Vice-president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Alen Simonyan’s personality and activities.
35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 200 articles were declared, 44 of which were negative, 2 were positive and 69 were neutral.
NA Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan has again been target of media criticism.
They say that PAP MP Artyom Tsarukyan has personal ties with the criminal world. Tsarukyan referred to this question, saying: “If you want to talk about the past, let’s take a look again at the interview of the recently suspended State Control Service (SCS) chief, who talked about how some were elected. He clearly stated that.” The news agency recalled that David Sanasaryan said in an interview that Alan Simonyan was assisted by local authorities during the elections.
Gagik Hambaryan said during an interview that both the opposition and the authorities sometimes use the practice of false agendas in the political struggle. One of such cases, according to the political scientist, was Alen Simonyan’s proposal to change the flag.
According to press reports, during the first minutes of the opening of “Vernatun” conference, Alen Simonyan wrote that people who are most critical of the government are holding a conference today in the capital’s largest auditorium, and that very event is covered by the Public Television. Reflecting on this topic, the news agency wrote: “Alen Simonyan had probably forgotten that neither the Sports and Concerts Complex nor the Public Television is the property of their government, so as the covering of such events considers to be a manifestation of generosity by the authorities towards other forces. And if in the past that same Public TV has served exclusively to the government, it doesn’t mean that such practice should be continued.”
The press reports that behind the scenes of politics, there are rumours about Hayk Marutyan’ possible resignation. According to these publications, Alen Simonyan still has an ambition to hold the post of mayor.
In fact, Alen Simonyan is being criticized for various reasons.
