Avetik Ishkhanyan, head of Armenia’s Helsinki Committee, said today that those supporting the idea of foreign language schools in Armenia had distorted the views of himself and others who see a danger in the new educational policy and call for pupils to first get a sufficient grounding in the Armenian language. "Back in the 1980's, when Armenian language schools were being closed and Russian schools opened, the answer given to those sounding the warning that the Armenian language was under threat was, ‘So, are you against learning foreign languages?’", he argued, adding that no one who opposes the plan has ever said that they are against learning a foreign language. "I totally agree that the more languages a pupil learns the better. But a child’s primary public education should begin with the mother tongue, to serve as a base to learn other languages and subjects. If the government cannot guarantee an adequate educational level for all subjects, including languages, then it should resign," Mr. Ishkhanyan said. He argued that there was a desire for independence during the Soviet era in those peoples who had retained and nurtured their native languages, Georgia and the Baltic states, for example. The children of those countries hardly attended Russian-language schools at all, he claimed. Commenting on the Armenian government’s plan to allow for foreign language schools to operate in the country, Mr. Ishkhanyan described the plan as "a substantial blow to the state body of independent Armenia. "It’s a complex. People who suffer these quirks now hold government posts. They cannot break free. They do not believe in the future of Armenia, in the Armenian government. Thus they want to build these elite schools for their kids. I just cannot understand how any independent nation could ever tolerate such an education minister like we have here, someone who wants to open these schools. But, I am convinced that he has the backing of the government in this. We have no need for such a government," Mr. Ishkhanyan concluded.