What has changed in Armenia since the Velvet Revolution and what are the main issues on the political agenda currently, What role did women play during the Velvet Revolution and What are the key foreign policy priorities and challenges of the current government where the topics, we have discussed together with Mikayel Zolyan, Member of the National Assembly of Armenia, Committee on Foreign Relations, Anna Davtyan-Gevorgyan, Research fellow at Center for Civilization and Cultural Studies, Yerevan State University and Arsen Kharatyan Editor-in-chief of Armenian-Georgian media platform - AliQ Media.
Mikayel Zolyan, Member of the National Assembly of Armenia, representing "My Step" Alliance, outlined that after the Velvet Revolution, there was a constitutional crisis in Armenia when the Prime Minister was the leader of the opposition while the Parliament was controlled by the Republican party. However, Armenia managed to resolve this constitutional crisis. After the Velvet Revolution several important developments took place in Armenia such as the following: free and fair elections were held, systemic corruption has been defeated and the process of demonopolization of economy has started . However, there are certain challenges that are ahead of Armenia such as overcoming economic difficulties, implementing institutional reforms, addressing the issue of transitional justice, etc.
What has changed in Armenia since the Velvet Revolution - Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus
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Anna Davtyan-Gevorgyan, Research Fellow at the Center for Civilization and Cultural Studies, Yerevan State University talked about the role of women during the Velvet Revolution. She also outlined the importance of transgender woman's speech at the National Assembly of Armenia. Additionally, Anna talked about the importance of civil society being the monitor and watchdog of currently implemented reforms. At the same time, she positively assessed the fact that many members of civil society are now in the government.
The role of civil society after the Velvet Revolution in Armenia - Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus
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Arsen Kharatyan, Editor-in-Chief of Armenian-Georgian media platform -AliQ Media, mentioned that the Velvet Revolution was a home-grown, organic process and since the Revolution Armenia has been going through a transformation. Regarding foreign policy priorities of the current government, he outlined that no major shifts in foreign policy are expected. At the same time, the current government has put a special emphasis on the importance of relations with Georgia and Iran as well as its readiness to participate in multilateral formats.
Key foreign policy priorities and challenges of the current Armenian Government - Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus
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