Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Armenian National Platform Meeting of Delegates,
Eastern Partnership CSF ANP Coordinator Hovsep Khurshudyan,
Eastern Partnership CSF ANP executive body
Eastern Partnership CSF ANP Secretariat
Petition
We the undersigned members of the Eastern Partnership CSF Armenian National Platform Meeting of Delegates, consider unacceptable ANP Coordinator Hovsep Khurshudyan’s initiative and actions, contradicting the Statute norms, his steps aimed towards concentrating senior positions in the Platform in his hands, the practice of unjustifiably and disproportionately extending his competence, attempts at politicizing the organization’s activities, arbitrariness displayed towards colleagues while performing managerial functions, request to discuss as a matter of priority the issue of Hovsep Khurshudyan’s inconsistency with the position of the ANP Coordinator. Our request is based, in particular, on the following facts:
- Hovsep Khurshudyan, while holding the position of the ANP Coordinator, did not shun assuming the office of the ANP Secretariat Chair of the Board, which according to point 4.1 of the Statute is a conflict of interest. Hovsep Khurshudyan is a member of the working group designing amendments to the ANP Statute and a look at the proposals by the group reveals that he is also aspiring to assume the authority of chairing the Executive Body sessions thus conferring to himself the competence of the Chairperson of the Board.
- Hovsep Khurshudyan through a violation of due procedures, has initiated the ANP 1st and 3rd working group coordinators’ removal from the office, without ever conferring with them or keeping them informed on the matter (the 1st group coordinator was not even invited to the meeting).
- Speaking as ANP Coordinator and acting on behalf of the Platform, Hovsep Khurshudyan without any discussion in the organization or having the approval of a simple majority of its members, has made political statements, single-handedly has conducted talks with political parties, initiated and conducted events, signed (or tried to sign) documents of political relevance. Being fully aware that he holds no authority to perform such actions, Hovsep Khurshudyan tries to have such authorities conferred to him through the above-mentioned amendments, which is fraught with the risk of politicization of the ANP as a civil society organization.
- It has been two months now since Hovsep Khurshudyan has taken the organization’s seal from the Secretariat’s Executive Director Ani Kojoyan without ever returning it, as he has made a decision single-handedly that Ani Kojoyan should leave her office. Meanwhile, failure to transfer relevant tax credentials to Executive Director Ani Kojoyan, as well as to change the organization’s bank account name after she took the position have impaired the Secretariat’s normal functioning. Such a course of action is not only destructive but is also violating the Republic of Armenia Law on Civil Society Organizations clause 23 section 3 point 2, as well as the ANP Secretariat Statute, points 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5 which deserve a due legal inquiry.
- As Ani Kojoyan has considered the resignation request as groundless and refused to comply with it, Hovsep Khurshudyan unleashed a campaign of pressure against her in order to have grounds for consecutively pronouncing reprimands and removing her from office. For achieving that goal, a Secretariat board session was held which lasted well over 4 hours, during which Hovsep Khurshudyan showed improper conduct, yelled, and used derogatory language. You can hear this on the audio records of the session which is kept by Ani Kojoyan. By the way, after such pressures, communication specialist Anna Mekhakyan, a person whose high professionalism and personal qualities were clear to all of us, quit her job and the reasons for that initially were not explicable to us. Meanwhile, Anna Mekhakyan’s notice of resignation sheds light on that story. Ani Kojoyan keeps that document, too.
While requesting to discuss Hovsep Khurhsudyan’s inconsistency with the position of the ANP Coordinator and to terminate his authority we cite the ANP Statute points 3.11.3, 4.1, 4.4 and expect to receive the support of the majority of the ANP delegates.
Ashot Melikyan, Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech
Mikayel Hovhannisyan, Eurasia Partnership Foundation
Gayane Abrahamyan, For Equal Rights Education Center NGO
Nune Sargsyan, Media Initiatives Center
Artur Papyan, Media Diversity Institute
Inga Zarafyan, Ecolur NGO
Amalya Hambardzumyan, Khazer ecology-cultural NGO
Temik Khalapyan, Trtu Cultural NGO
Anahit Gevorgyan, Martuni Women’s Community Council
Abraham Artashasyan, Community Financers’ Union
Susanna Shahnazaryan, Goris Press Club
Liana Asoayan, Blejan nature protection, social and business support NGO
Diana Yeghiazaryan, Federation of Youth Clubs
Naira Arakelyan, Armavir Development Center
Yerevan, 25 May 2023