Category: 2019

For Immediate Release
 
 

 
 
USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director
[email protected] | 213.821.3943

Institute Projects Presented at Oral History Association Conference

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director of the USC 
Institute of Armenian Studies, and Gegham Mughnetsyan, Chitjian Researcher 
Archivist, presented Institute’s ongoing oral history projects at the annual 
Oral History Association conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 17, 
2019. 

Established in 1966, the Oral History Association is the flagship organization 
for oral history practitioners and scholars, serving a broad and diverse 
audience including historians, archivists, librarians, and documentarians. 

Ms. Petrosyan and Mr. Mughnetsyan were speakers in a session titled “The 
Challenges of Remembering: Complexity in Documenting Trauma, Displacement, and 
Political Change.” Chaired by Dr. Annette Henry from University of British 
Columbia, the panel revolved around the processes and challenges of collecting 
and documenting oral histories. 

Ms. Petrosyan manages the Institute’s UNDERSTANDING INDEPENDENCE project, 
which, through long-form video interviews in Armenia, documents and secures for 
history the memories and accounts of prominent figures of Armenia’s 
independence movement from the Soviet Union. 

In the presentation titled, “Understanding Independence: Armenia 1988-1996 - A 
Preliminary Look at the First Year of Documentation and Oral Interview 
Collection Process”, she discussed the value of and complexities related to 
this important project. 

“These oral histories challenge mainstream historical reviews of processes and 
attitudes that existed at the time, including attitudes towards independence 
and sovereignty,” Ms. Petrosyan said.

Ms. Petrosyan showed brief excerpts from the interviews in Russian, Armenian 
and English to illustrate the diversity of the interviews and the extensive 
post-interview process of transcribing, translating and subtitling the 
interviews to provide wide access for future researchers. 

In his presentation titled “The Armenian Displaced Persons of WWII: Challenges 
of Oral History in a Close-Knit Community”, Gegham Mughnetsyan spoke about the 
particularities of collecting stories in a community where everyone knows each 
other and the past is communally shared. 

Mr. Mughnetsyan has conducted thirty interviews as part of the DISPLACED 
PERSONS DOCUMENTATION project, which tells the story of the Soviet-Armenian 
refugees and their odious journey from German camps to America. This is a pilot 
project within the Institute’s larger DIGITAL DIASPORA initiative to gather, 
digitize and make accessible materials that comprise the Armenian Diaspora 
experience. “Above all,” Mughnetsyan said at the end of his presentation, “the 
connecting glue among the people was the collective story, kept, celebrated and 
retold at every gathering and reunion, a story of displacement, of survival, 
and of a journey that turned people into a community.”  

Another challenge highlighted by Mr. Mughnetsyan was the fact that a lot of the 
interviewees switch between three languages while being interviewed, which 
exponentially complicates the transcription process. Mr. Mughnetsyan showcased 
fragments of interviews coupled with archival photographs collected from the 
interviewees during the documentation process.    

The presentations were followed by a dozen questions regarding the various 
challenges of working with communities that have been through trauma, 
displacement and political upheaval. Oral historians working with similar 
community projects expressed the interest to maintain connections for future 
dialogues, exchange of best practices and cooperation. 

During the four-day-long conference, Institute’s representatives got to make 
connections with peers in the field and observed creative examples of showcased 
oral histories and community stories that will in turn be useful guides as 
Institute’s growing oral history collections and projects become research 
materials, audio documentaries, mixed-media exhibits and podcasts. 

About the Institute
 
Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports 
multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex 
issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience—from post-genocide to 
the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving diaspora. The institute 
encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among 
the global academic and Armenian communities.
 
For inquiries, write to [email protected] or call 213.821.3943.

                                        Wednesday, 

Armenia’s Former Top Judge Denies Forced Resignation

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia -- Gagik Harutiunian, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, speaks at 
the council headquarters in Yerevan, April 10, 2019.

Gagik Harutiunian on Wednesday dismissed as “fairy tales” government claims 
that the former Armenian authorities forced him to resign as chairman of the 
Constitutional Court last year to make way for a new chief justice handpicked 
by them.

Harutiunian headed the court for over two decades, until becoming in February 
2018 the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a newly established 
body overseeing Armenian courts. He was replaced in March 2018 by Hrayr 
Tovmasian, until then a senior lawmaker representing President Serzh 
Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK).

Tovmasian is facing growing pressure from the current authorities to step down. 
On Tuesday, an Armenian law-enforcement agency effectively declared illegal his 
election as Constitutional Court chairman by the country’s former 
HHK-controlled parliament. The Special Investigative Service (SIS) said it was 
part of a “usurpation of power” committed by former officials.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s spokesman, Vladimir Karapetian, alleged on 
Monday that HHK leaders hastily “forced” Harutiunian to resign in order to 
appoint Tovmasian to the post before the entry into force in April 2018 of 
sweeping constitutional amendments. Some of Pashinian’s political allies have 
made similar claims.

“These are fairy tales,” Harutiunian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “I myself 
decided that it is not appropriate to remain Constitutional Court chairman 
while being a member of the SJC.”

The amendments introduced a six-year term in office for the head of Armenia’s 
highest court. Tovmasian was named to run the court under the previous Armenian 
constitution which allows him to hold the post until the age of 70.

Harutiunian, 71, resigned as SJC chairman in May this year after criticizing 
protests outside court buildings across Armenia organized by Pashinian. The 
latter appealed to supporters to block the entrances to those buildings as he 
claimed that Armenian courts remain linked to “the former corrupt system.”

Pashinian’s appeal came one day after a Yerevan court ordered former President 
Robert Kocharian released from jail pending the outcome of his trial on coup 
and corruption charges strongly denied by him. The court’s decision angered 
many allies and supporters of Pashinian. Kocharian was arrested again in June.



Former Parliament Speaker Rejects Coup Claims

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - Speaker Ara Babloyan at a parliament session in Yerevan, January 15, 
2018.

Armenia’s former parliament speaker Ara Babloyan strongly denied on Wednesday 
any involvement in a “usurpation of power” alleged by a law-enforcement agency 
as he risked being prosecuted on coup charges.

Babloyan claimed that he broke laws while in office only when he helped Nikol 
Pashinian come to power last year.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) said on Tuesday that a “group of 
officials” seized power in Armenia shortly before the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” 
by installing Hrayr Tovmasian as chairman of the Constitutional Court. It 
alleged that Tovmasian’s appointment by the former parliament was accompanied 
by serious violations of Armenian laws.

In particular, the SIS accused Babloyan of illegally accepting and announcing 
the resignation of Tovmasian’s predecessor, Gagik Harutiunian, before receiving 
a relevant letter from the latter. Still, the law-enforcement body stopped 
short of indicting the former speaker, saying that it regards him only as a 
suspect in the case for now.

“I acted within the limits of the constitution and laws,” Babloyan told 
reporters. “I did not violate the constitution. I did not violate any law.”

Babloyan insisted that Harutiunian’s letter of resignation “was on my desk” 
when he signed it on March 2, 2018. He said he does not know why the former 
Constitutional Court chairman decided to step down at the time.

“I can only answer one question if they identify and raise that question: I 
assisted Nikol Pashinian in coming to power. That’s where I committed a 
violation,” added the ex-speaker. He refused to elaborate.


Armenia - Parliament speaker Ara Babloyan (L) meets with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian, Yerevan, 25Dec2018

The SIS announced the coup inquiry on October 17 two days after seven of the 
nine Constitutional Court judges dismissed calls for Tovmasian’s dismissal made 
by the current Armenian parliament loyal to Pashinian. In an appeal to the 
court, the parliament claimed, among other things, that Tovmasian cannot act 
impartially because of his past affiliation with the former ruling Republican 
Party (HHK).

Pashinian similarly charged in July that Tovmasian “privatized” the 
Constitutional Court with the help of the HHK. He implicitly demanded changes 
in the court’s composition.

Tovmasian countered earlier this month that the current authorities are seeking 
to oust him in order to gain control over the court and be able to make 
unconstitutional decisions.

So far the SIS has indicted only one person as part of the probe. It said on 
Tuesday that Arsen Babayan, the former deputy chief of the parliament staff, 
backdated Harutiunian’s letter of resignation to enable Tovmasian to become 
court chairman before the entry into force of sweeping amendments to the 
Armenian constitution.

The amendments introduced a six-year term in office for the head of Armenia’s 
highest court. Tovmasian was named to run the court under the previous 
constitution which allows him to hold the post until the age of 70.

Babayan, who is now an outspoken critic of Pashinian’s government, was arrested 
on Monday. He denies the coup charges as politically motivated.



Pashinian Defends Sharp Pay Rise For Ministers

        • Susan Badalian

Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a cabinet meeting in 
Yerevan, Armenia October 16, 2018.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday defended his recent decision to 
effectively double the salaries of ministers and other senior government 
officials and insisted that it was not made secretly.

The Hetq.am investigative publication revealed on Monday that the ministers, 
their deputies and top civil servants have been paid twice the amount of their 
monthly wages for the last four months. It said that this is the result of a 
“secret directive” issued by Pashinian in July.

Armenian opposition leaders seized upon the report to accuse the government of 
a lack of transparency. Some of them also suggested that the pay rise ran 
counter to an Armenian law that sets the salaries of high-ranking state 
officials.

Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), 
demanded explanations from Pashinian during the government’s 
question-and-answer session in the National Assembly.

Pashinian explained that the monthly remunerations of the officials in question 
have doubled thanks to hefty bonuses which he added to their salaries. He said 
the pay rise was financed from “bonus funds” which Armenia’s 2019 state budget 
set aside for all government agencies.

“You were told about that during the budget discussions [in the parliament] and 
you voted for it,” he told Marukian.

Those funds are equivalent to 30 percent of the government’s wage bills for 
this year. “The government is free to use that 30 percent at will,” stressed 
Pashinian.

The premier also claimed that his controversial decision was marked as 
classified by his office only due to bureaucratic “inertia.” He argued that he 
could never hide the monthly incomes of ministers because they are obliged to 
issue asset declarations, available to the public, on an annual basis.

The salary hike means that members of Pashinian’s cabinet now earn 1.5 million 
drams ($3,200) per month, compared with Armenia’s current average monthly wage 
of 180,000 drams. The average monthly pension in the country stands at only 
41,000 drams.

Pashinian dismissed complaints about the huge disparity between the ministerial 
wages and pensions. “Whether or not a pensioner’s pension will rise depends on 
the quality of a minister’s work,” he said. “This year we will ensure a 20 
percent rise in state revenues and the pensions will rise starting from January 
1.”

Ever since coming to power in May 2018 Pashinian has repeatedly stated that 
paying the ministers and other senior officials decent salaries will contribute 
to good governance and attract skilled professionals working for private firms 
to the public sector.

Their salaries were most recently officially raised by the former Armenian 
government in 2013. Pashinian, then an opposition parliamentarian, strongly 
opposed the measure, calling it a manifestation of government “cynicism.”



Press Review


“Zhamanak” comments on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s newly disclosed and 
controversial decision to effectively double the salaries of Armenian 
government ministers and their deputies. The paper says that many Armenians 
would be unhappy with the decision even if it was not made secretly. “The view 
that the problem lies in the form, not essence, is misplaced,” it writes. “The 
problem is the essence and it is a serious one because it reflects the 
existence of deep social and psychological complexes in Armenian public 
circles. The former corrupt regime was harshly criticized when it came to 
raising the salaries of ministers, other officials or parliament deputies. The 
public complained that ‘they steal and still raise their salaries amid 
widespread poverty.’” The paper urges the government to embark on a “frank and 
bold” dialogue with the public.

“Aravot” believes that Pashinian was right to sharply raise the salaries, 
saying that the measure is needed to discourage corrupt practices among those 
senior officials. “The question is why it was done secretly,” editorializes the 
paper. “The answer [to this question] is clear. The government is scared of 
uproars from populists. It must not be scared of that.”

“Haykakan Zhamanak” quotes Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman for the former 
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), as saying that Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian would love to achieve the kind of macroeconomic indicators that were 
achieved by his predecessor Karen Karapetian. The pro-government paper scoffs 
at the remark, wondering why the HHK “fooled a prime minister who registered 
such brilliant results and nominated Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister in April 
2018.” “What kept Sarkisian from retiring or focusing on his party so that 
Karapetian could continue to rule as prime minister and ensure double-digit 
economic growth?” it asks. “After all, the HHK owed the results of the [2017] 
parliamentary elections to him as well. The answer is obvious. The HHK did not 
quite care about economic growth.”

(Lilit Harutiunian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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