From 11 to 20 July, 2020, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the RA Minister of Health, Arsen Torosyan’s personality and activities.
35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored․
In the specified period, 118 articles were declared, 60 of which were negative, 1 was positive and 57 were neutral.
RA Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan has become the most criticized politician of recent weeks. Numerous negative articles have been published on him.
The press, referring to Margarita Simonyan’s statement, which was widely criticized on social networks, wrote: “It is interesting, when Arsen Torosyan announced that our country is a “schmuck” none of you addressed 10% of those shameful remarks addressed to Margarita and did not demand his resignation. In such case, in any country, any self-respecting nation, a patriotic person would first force such a rascal to apologize publicly, then he would resign voluntarily.”
Alvard Gasparyan, former head of the Epidemiology Service of the Central Clinical Hospital, referring to the epidemic situation in Armenia, noted that in the initial stage of the coronavirus outbreak, the spread of the infection in Armenia could have been prevented as soon as possible but as it was an unfulfilled mission for the responsible of the sphere, Minister Arsen Torosyan, the fight failed: “Now if you tell me to lift a 500-kilogram barbell, I can not, it is not my profession and I will not succeed, the same case was with the minister, he is not competent, in general all the other children of the government could not understand whether wearing a mask is right or not, whether the inpatient treatment is right, isolation or what, etc.”
The staff of Gyumri Oncology Dispensary has expressed dissatisfaction, protesting against the draft presented by the government, according to which they will dissolve the Dispensary, uniting it with Gyumri Medical Center. The employees note that according to the minister’s statements, special attention will be paid to oncology, but, on the contrary, the minister has not visited an oncology dispensary even once.
