Armenian reporter and analyst Tatul Hakobyan gave a talk on current Armenian events at the at Berkeley on August 29 as part of tour to various venues in several Armenian-American and Armenian-Canadian communities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Chicago, Washington DC. and Fair Lawn (NJ).
The event at the Berkeley was organized by Dr. Stephan Astourian (Director of the Armenian Studies Program at U.C. Berkeley; Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of History)
Hakobyan spoke clearly in English in an informal and lively fashion. He prefaced his talk by proclaiming that he was an independent journalist without ties to any political parties or the Armenian government.
The talk, followed by a discussion and Q&A, analyzed the latest political developments in Armenia that resulted in the so-called “Velvet Revolution” led by Nikol Pashinyan. The revolution brought about the resignation of newly-elected Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who had already served two terms as Armenia’s President, and his replacement by Pashinyan.
Hakobyan analyzed the following questions:
-What were the causes of this unexpected revolution?
-What has been achieved over the past hundred, or so, days?
-What are the prospects for Pashinian’s success in the coming legislative elections?
-Is a counter-revolution that would bring back the kleptocratic, authoritarian leadership of the previous regimes still possible.
On August 28 Tatul Hakobyan delivered a lecture in San Francisco, at Khachaturian Armenian Center’s Saroyan Hall. The event was organized by KZV Armenian School.
The lectures and Q&A sessions followed by a presentation of Hakobian’s and his ANI Armenian Research Center’s new books.
Hakobyan is currently a reporter with CivilNet online TV and the coordinator of the ANI Armenian Research Center.
