18:05, 9 June 2023
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. to be held on June 11 in Luxembourg City. Tatev Manukyan was nominated by "Fokus" party.
In a conversation with ARMENPRESS, Tatev Manukyan emphasized that municipal council elections will be held in different communities of Luxembourg and in the capital, which, according to her, will be historic, as an Armenian candidate is nominated for the first time. Non-citizens of Luxembourg who have the right of residence will also have the right to vote in these elections.
Manukyan emphasizes that more than 50 percent of people living in Luxembourg are not citizens of Luxemburg, and more than 70 percent of the population in Luxembourg City are non-citizens. This implies that only 30 percent of the population participated and voted in the elections before this decision.
"I am included in the electoral list of the Luxembourg communal council. As a result of the elections, 27 members of the communal council will be elected. 8 parties and a number of non-party candidates participate in the communal council elections. I was nominated by the "Fokus" party, which was founded by Frank Engel," she said.
Tatev Manukyan, who was the honorary consul of Armenia in Luxembourg in 2020-2022, noted that during these years, she has been actively working for connecting and integrating the Armenian community with the multi-ethnic and diverse society of Luxembourg.
"I would like to particularly note that the Armenian community is not alone here, we have friends from different nationalities, including Luxembourgers, and this is exactly what I have been trying to achieve these years, I mean, to attract our non-Armenian friends to the Armenian community. Now we have also created an association in the community, thanks to which we have opened an Armenian Saturday school, a choir, and we also carry out various cultural events," she said.
As for why she got involved in politics, the candidate for the Luxembourg communal council mentioned that more than 50 percent of the population in Luxembourg are foreigners, and it is very important that they also get involved in various events and take part in political processs.
She noted that her involvement in the political life of Luxembourg is primarily important from the point of view that she is a foreigner. Secondly, the Armenian community has a very important role in the public life of Luxembourg, so her participation in the upcoming elections is also important for that she represents the Armenian community.
"Very accomplished people, famous in their areas of activity, hardworking people live here. In Luxembourg, my activities related to the Armenian community will not change in any way, because I have always been active and will continue in the same way, irrespective of being or not being elected. And I should happily mention that we have a team in the community, we help each other a lot and we organize everything together," said Manukyan.
She emphasized that in case of being elected, her involvement in various social and political initiatives will be much greater, which will help to involve the Armenian community more into the Luxembourg’s reality and vice versa.
If Tatev Manukyan succeeds in the upcoming elections, she plans to implement some cultural programs with Armenia.
"We will start from September a screening of a film about Artsakh. One has already taken place, and it was very important for me that more than half of the audience was not Armenian by nationality. It is very important that we succeed in delivering our culture to the society living next to the Armenian community. During the days of the war, when I was the honorary consul in Luxembourg, together with the embassy team, we focused our activities on raising the Artsakh issue and managed to get two resolutions adopted in the parliament. We continue to do everything we can in that direction," she emphasized.
Gayane Gaboyan