Epress.am News from Armenia
French University of Armenia (l’Université Française en Arménie, or UFAR) lecturers who were discharged in August held a press conference today to present the latest round of responses they received from state bodies.
The lecturers received a response from representatives of the RA presidential staff, RA education and science ministry, and the State Labor Inspectorate. The lecturers stated that the president’s office and the State Labor Inspectorate not only responded to their letter, but also investigated the matter further and provided responses which, according to the lecturers, protecting the employees (that is, their) interests.
The lecturers noted that their appeals were not responded to by the RA Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), UFAR Board of Trustees President Artur Baghdasaryan, and the French Embassy in Armenia. They noted that since high-ranking officials are taking action on this issue, they don’t expect a response from the aforementioned bodies, and they won’t appeal to these institutions further. Note that the lecturers also took their appeal to court, the hearing of which will take place on Oct. 11 at 3 pm at Yerevan’s Kanaker-Zeitoun Administrative Court.
During the press conference, the lecturers noted that there were numerous violations at UFAR.
Asked by Epress.am why they didn’t call attention to these issues at the time, former UFAR lecturer Narine Kokhtiyevyan said that was a good question.
Kokhtiyevyan noted that being accommodating is typical of Armenians and they, in the interest of the university, didn’t speak up about the violations and now they stand before the fact.