ArmInfo."Everyone is equal before the law," Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said in an interview with journalists, referring to the release of Konstantin Orbelyan from the post of Director of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiaryan.
"Respecting the merits of Mr. Orbelyan, nevertheless, privileged in any sector, including the sector of culture, cannot be," he said.
When asked whether it's a violation of the law that Deputy Culture Minister Nazeni Gharibyan herself (who signed the order for Orbelyan's release, Ed. note) has dual citizenship to France and Armenia, and occupies a state post, Avinyan said that there should be no violation of the law. "The post of minister does not allow you to have dual citizenship, the deputy minister is allowed. In general, the issue is very sensitive, and if we want to further involve representatives of the diaspora in our public and political life, then I am sure that this policy needs to be revised," vice premier.
Earlier today, the staff of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiaryan held a protest outside the building of the Government of the Republic, demanding the cancellation of the order acting of Minister of Culture of Armenia Nazeni Gharibyan on the dismissal of director of the theater Konstantin Orbelyan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received culture workers. "At the moment we are satisfied with the meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan," said the conductor Harutyun Arzumanyan, who, together with 6 other employees of the theater, met with the Prime Minister. According to him, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers guaranteed that no one would be appointed to the position of director today before the theater staff studied the reasons for the dismissal of Konstantin Orbelyan.
The duties of the director of the Opera will be assigned to the deputy director, and Orbelyan will continue to perform the functions of artistic director. "The guarantees are valid until the theater's staff refuted the arguments presented to the prime minister by the ministry, on the basis of which Orbelyan was dismissed. A number of the ministry's arguments be out of character to reality Mr Prime Minister said that if at least one of the points presented by the Ministry of Culture was false, the one who submitted them would immediately be punished and released from work, "the conductor noted.
To recall, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia, Nazeni Gharibyan, by decree of March 28 of this year relieved Konstantin Orbelyan of the post of Director of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiaryan. As the basis of K. Orbelyan's release from office, the Ministry of Culture cites article 15 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia <On state non- profit organizations>, which states: <A person appointed to the position of director of SNCO may not occupy another position or perform other paid work than scientific , pedagogical and creative work. Konstantin Orbelyan, besides the director of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiaryan, also held the position of artistic director. On March 29, Gharibyan announced that the name of the new director of the Opera Theater will be known on April 1. Orbelyan himself stated that in this case he would leave the theater altogether.