Hayakve: YSU should not be a place where silence or loyalty  guarantees job security

ArmInfo. Yerevan State University (YSU) should not be an institution where silence or political loyalty serves as a prerequisite for job security, as noted  in a statement issued by the Hayakve  civic initiative.

Earlier, it was reported that YSU management decided not to renew the  employment contracts of political scientists Khachik Galstyan and  Alen Ghevondyan, and lawyer Ruben Melikyan.

According to the statement, pressure and restrictions imposed by the  current government on academics and lecturers who hold nationalistic  views, possess a sense of dignity, or maintain dissenting political  positions are not a new phenomenon. Many lecturers have previously  been dismissed from universities without substantiated grounds.

"The national civic initiative 'Hayakve,' which has consistently  advocated for the principle of political neutrality in higher  education, as well as the preservation of academic autonomy and  freedoms, strongly condemns the escalation of political persecution  at the country's leading university in recent days. The  administration of Yerevan State University has unilaterally and  without justification terminated the employment contracts of  long-serving and distinguished faculty members: Dr. of Political  Science, Professor Khachik Galstyan; Candidate of Political Science,  Associate Professor Alen Ghevondyan; and Candidate of Legal Sciences,  Associate Professor Ruben Melikyan. By doing so, an attempt is being  made to punish them for their political views, activities, and civic  engagement," the statement reads.

The authors emphasize that this is a classic example of  discrimination, grossly violating the provisions of the Constitution  of the Republic of Armenia on university self-governance and academic  freedom, as well as relevant international standards. "We regret to  note that this is being allowed at the country's flagship university.  Yerevan State University should not be a place where silence or  loyalty guarantees job security," the statement reads.

Public and political activist Menua Soghomonyan has also responded to  the situation. According to him, the administration's goal is to  destroy the university. " The dismissal of lecturers who hold  independent views on current national events will inevitably  continue. As a result, only those who confine their opinions to  private offices will remain. I have repeatedly called for resistance.  If there is resistance, the university will not collapse; if there is  no resistance, the university will fall. For me, the university is an  institution synonymous with the state itself. It is no coincidence  that in 1919, amidst famine and plague, when the country was full of  orphans and refugees, our great ancestors made the decision to  establish this university," Menua Soghomonyan noted.