From 11 to 20 July, 2020, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the Vice-speaker 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, 37 articles were declared, 12 of which were negative and 25 were neutral.
No positive articles were published RA NA Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan.
“My Step” proposed to expand the powers of the commission examining the parliamentary ethics, so as it is able to envisage a disciplinary measure.
The media highlighted the incident between Edmon Marukyan and Alen Simonyan, where both insulted each other with the expressions like “political nonentity” and “son of an immoral”.
The press, referring to the internal political situation, wrote: “There is no fear in our hearts, there is pain … Pain, regarding the events taking place inside Armenia… pain, when the Armenian policeman unfoundedly “twists” his compatriot, pain, when the Minister of Health, in the person of Arsen Torosyan, created an “epidemic” with his incompetent actions and promotes it till now for the sake of NED Foundation, it is painful when the highest political “figures” in the person of Alen Simonyan created a Call Center for the reproduction of fake accounts, it is painful that in person of these 2 Soros mediators with Armenian surnames – Hasmik Mkhitaryan (President of the “Progress of Gyumri” Civil Society Development Center NGO) and Levon Baghdasaryan (Project JC “Asparez” component coordinator) we have people who supervise and distribute funds and make appointments to the Government of Armenia starting from June 2018.
“All the death cases we have today are on Arsen Torosyan’s conscience, he should be fired immediately,” said a resident of Vedi city of Ararat region, in a conversation with the press, referring to the government’s fight against coronavirus. Then one of the citizens, referring to the question of the bonuses which receive the deputies and the recent harsh response of the NA Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan to the journalists’ question, noted: “Alen Simonyan is not right at all. Let them give 20.000 drams from their bonuses to me, let them say, you are a pensioner, spend it, but no, they take it, and then say, what have we done, we just received 200.000 drams. What has he done? All are rich children in the National Assembly, who went to America, England and graduated there, then became the decision-makers of the country. What issue should they solve? Today, 20-25 year olds decide my issue, decide how I should live. In general, they are the ones who do not let Pashinyan work.”
