ArmInfo. A new holiday will appear in Armenia - the Day of National Minorities. The RA National Assembly, at its sitting on March 3, in the second and final reading, amended the law "On Holidays and Memorable Dates".
As one of the authors of the bill, Rustam Bakoyan, a deputy from the "My Step" faction, noted, although Armenia is a mono-ethnic country, there are still about 11 ethnic minorities living here, whose representatives played their role in the history of Armenia at different times. "The legislation stipulates that they have the right to preserve their national and ethnic identity, develop their national language, traditions, faith and culture. This change will be another step that will draw attention to national minorities, their problems and needs, and help find their solution." , - said Bakoyan.
According to him, there is a similar practice in Romania, India, Estonia and other countries. The legislative amendments propose to celebrate the Day of National Minorities in Armenia on the last Saturday of September, since during this period the Council of National Minorities holds a meeting and various events. Note that according to the latest census, about 1.8% of the population is made up of national minorities. There are 11 relatively large communities in Armenia - Yezidis, Assyrians, Greeks, Russians, Germans, Georgians, Kurds, Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews.