Armenia`s Ombudsman responded to the Shirak region governor`s statements without pointing fingers.

ArmInfo. Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan called for the prevention of hate speech and labeling based on national or ethnic origin.

According to the Human Rights Defender's office, in particular, the Armenian Ombudsman condemned the use of such expressions as "Turk," "Russian," "Kurd," "Yazidi," "nomad," and others. "A person's national or ethnic identity cannot be presented as a negative trait or used to discredit anyone," Manasyan stated.

She also emphasized that government officials, political and public figures, the media, and other participants in public debate must play an active role in eliminating such statements.

It should be noted that observers are linking the Armenian Ombudsman's veiled statement to a xenophobic post by the Shirak Province Governor. The governor, responding to Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia party organizing festive events to mark Gyumri Day on his Facebook page, wrote: "Gyumri is not your 'Lower Tabor,' and Gyumreans are not your 'Ivans.'"

It should be noted that this caused an international scandal. In particular, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, commenting on the scandalous epithets of the governor of Armenia's Shirak region, recalled that the Nazi invaders used derogatory terms like "Ivans" or "Red Ivans" on Soviet soldiers, making no distinction based on nationality. In this vein, she noted that among these "Ivans" or "Red Ivans" were approximately half a million ethnic Armenians directly from the Armenian SSR or other Soviet Republics.