President of the Public Council of Armenia Vazgen Manukyan has announced his resignation. In a letter addressed to the members of the body, he said he finds his future activities in the Public Council to be “meaningless” and is stepping down, having notified the government about his decision.
“The government’s goal was supposed to be mitigating the cracks existing in society, creating an atmosphere of solidarity, and uniting the people. One of the most productive levers for implementing this goal could have been the Public Council itself, one of the important functions of which, according to the law, is to contribute to the development of mutual trust, dialogue and collegial relations between the government, public administration bodies and the civil society institutions. At the latest session of the Public Council. I presented to you that I have tried several times to meet the Prime Minister to find ways of cooperating for easing the existing tension within the society and through the Public Council to prevent certain steps which in my opinion are dangerous for the state. You are also aware that these attempts were in vain.
Some time has passed since our last session, and again no response. In these conditions, I find my further activity in the Public Council to be meaningless and I am leaving the council, about what I have already notified the government in writing.
I will continue the fight for the interests of our state and people, the way I have fought in my entire life.
Dear colleagues, I thank you all. With many of you, we have overcome an interesting and difficult path since 2009, trying to create a civilized platform, develop a new public culture, to find compromise solutions for problems, disputes and tensions between the society and the government.
I hope the Public Council will continue maintaining its quality and will continue serving its goals,” reads the letter addressed to the members of the Public Council.
