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ARMENIA: CUSTOMS UNION MARKS GREAT LEAP BACKWARD -- ACTIVISTS
EurasiaNet.org
April 18 2014
April 18, 2014 - 11:16am, by Marianna Grigoryan
Protesters march against homophobia at a May 21, 2012 rally in
Yerevan. Human-rights activists fear that Armenia's accession to
the Russia-led Customs Union could restrict civil rights. (Photo:
Anahit Hayrapetyan)
While President Serzh Sargsyan's administration touts Armenia's pending
accession to the Russia-led Customs Union as likely to usher in an era
of prosperity for the South Caucasus country, rights activists assert
that when it comes to democratization, Customs Union membership means
Yerevan will take "one step forward, two steps back."
The founding members of the Customs Union - Russia, Kazakhstan and
Belarus - all feature authoritarian-minded political systems, in which
freedom of expression is restricted, the judicial systems are firmly
under executive control and non-governmental organization activists
and independent journalists are generally viewed by officials as
subversive elements.
Watchdog groups have offered plentiful criticism of the Armenian
government's democratization record since the 1991 Soviet collapse,
but activists note authorities have made significant progress in some
areas. Armenian legislation, for instance, now permits alternative
military service and provides for equal gender rights. Some reforms
of the judicial system have begun to address complaints about
institutional independence -- on pension reform, the constitutional
court this year ruled against the government - and alleged police
abuses. In addition, grassroots protests in Yerevan have led to changes
in city-government policy, while greater attention also has begun to
be paid to the widespread abuse of military conscripts.
Currently, the Washington, DC-based organization Freedom House gives
Armenia a "partly free" ranking for its observance of democratic norms,
but deems Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus "not free."
With Armenia set to join the Customs Union in the near future,
some independent rights activists, including Zara Hovhannisian,
believe Yerevan is going to come under pressure from other members
to roll back political freedoms. "We are facing tough times since we
have rejected democratic processes and are entering a club where an
authoritarian regime is enforced, just like in Russia and Belarus,
where human rights organizations and activists are exposed to
harassment," said Hovhannisian. "We are moving to an area where we
are going to lose ground."
The Customs Union will do nothing to halt police use of violence, cases
of abuse and harassment of investigation targets, and election fraud,
among other weak areas, contended Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor
office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly and an outspoken government
critic. "The Customs Union has nothing to offer but another exercise
in dictatorship."
"High-ranking officials in Russia have repeatedly stated that measures
will be taken against those who speak against the Eurasian Union,
and this threat is directly aimed at us as well," added Sakunts.
A senior member of the governing Republican Party of Armenia argues
that such concerns are misplaced. "We won't suffer any losses in
terms of human rights and democracy after joining the Customs Union,"
said 37-year-old parliamentarian Hovhannes Sahakian. "The Armenian
government is determined to build a law-abiding and democratic state."
Customs Union regulations do not contain provisions covering
freedom of competition, independent judicial systems, or civil-rights
guidelines. Some might say that is because the Customs Union involves
an economic merger; not a political merger. But some Armenian critics
see no such distinction.
"After 23 years of independence, we are facing the danger of
losing our sovereignty and national security," worried Avetik
Ishkhanian, head of the non-profit Helsinki Committee in Armenia, a
rights-monitoring group that receives funding from the Open Society
Foundation-Armenia. [Editor's Note: The Helsinki Committee receives
funding from the Open Society Foundation-Armenia, which is part of the
Soros foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices
of the Open Society Foundation in New York, a separate part of the
Soros network.
"One of the most important features of a legal state is predictability,
a lack of ambiguity," Sakunts said. "These principles are not secured
in the regulations of the Customs Union."
Sahakian, the pro-government MP, refuted Sakunts' claim as an
exaggeration. "I do not understand why human-rights activists are in
a panic," he said.
The European Union, which continues to run civil-rights-related
programs in Armenia and recommends various reforms, has said that it is
not closing the door on the country. For his part, President Sargsyan
stated in a February interview with the Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny
that Yerevan intends to continue "productively cooperating" with the
EU in such areas as the "reinforcement of democratic institutions,
protection of human rights and others."
Reforms will "successfully continue," he repeated on April 14,
without specification.
But, after six years of such statements, some ordinary Armenians are
skeptical. "Our government is doing everything the Kremlin wants, like
marionettes," scoffed 35-year-old lawyer Nvard Mnatsakanian. "Who will
believe that the reforms will continue? The main idea [for authorities]
is to keep everyone under control."
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68285
From: A. Papazian
EurasiaNet.org
April 18 2014
April 18, 2014 - 11:16am, by Marianna Grigoryan
Protesters march against homophobia at a May 21, 2012 rally in
Yerevan. Human-rights activists fear that Armenia's accession to
the Russia-led Customs Union could restrict civil rights. (Photo:
Anahit Hayrapetyan)
While President Serzh Sargsyan's administration touts Armenia's pending
accession to the Russia-led Customs Union as likely to usher in an era
of prosperity for the South Caucasus country, rights activists assert
that when it comes to democratization, Customs Union membership means
Yerevan will take "one step forward, two steps back."
The founding members of the Customs Union - Russia, Kazakhstan and
Belarus - all feature authoritarian-minded political systems, in which
freedom of expression is restricted, the judicial systems are firmly
under executive control and non-governmental organization activists
and independent journalists are generally viewed by officials as
subversive elements.
Watchdog groups have offered plentiful criticism of the Armenian
government's democratization record since the 1991 Soviet collapse,
but activists note authorities have made significant progress in some
areas. Armenian legislation, for instance, now permits alternative
military service and provides for equal gender rights. Some reforms
of the judicial system have begun to address complaints about
institutional independence -- on pension reform, the constitutional
court this year ruled against the government - and alleged police
abuses. In addition, grassroots protests in Yerevan have led to changes
in city-government policy, while greater attention also has begun to
be paid to the widespread abuse of military conscripts.
Currently, the Washington, DC-based organization Freedom House gives
Armenia a "partly free" ranking for its observance of democratic norms,
but deems Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus "not free."
With Armenia set to join the Customs Union in the near future,
some independent rights activists, including Zara Hovhannisian,
believe Yerevan is going to come under pressure from other members
to roll back political freedoms. "We are facing tough times since we
have rejected democratic processes and are entering a club where an
authoritarian regime is enforced, just like in Russia and Belarus,
where human rights organizations and activists are exposed to
harassment," said Hovhannisian. "We are moving to an area where we
are going to lose ground."
The Customs Union will do nothing to halt police use of violence, cases
of abuse and harassment of investigation targets, and election fraud,
among other weak areas, contended Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor
office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly and an outspoken government
critic. "The Customs Union has nothing to offer but another exercise
in dictatorship."
"High-ranking officials in Russia have repeatedly stated that measures
will be taken against those who speak against the Eurasian Union,
and this threat is directly aimed at us as well," added Sakunts.
A senior member of the governing Republican Party of Armenia argues
that such concerns are misplaced. "We won't suffer any losses in
terms of human rights and democracy after joining the Customs Union,"
said 37-year-old parliamentarian Hovhannes Sahakian. "The Armenian
government is determined to build a law-abiding and democratic state."
Customs Union regulations do not contain provisions covering
freedom of competition, independent judicial systems, or civil-rights
guidelines. Some might say that is because the Customs Union involves
an economic merger; not a political merger. But some Armenian critics
see no such distinction.
"After 23 years of independence, we are facing the danger of
losing our sovereignty and national security," worried Avetik
Ishkhanian, head of the non-profit Helsinki Committee in Armenia, a
rights-monitoring group that receives funding from the Open Society
Foundation-Armenia. [Editor's Note: The Helsinki Committee receives
funding from the Open Society Foundation-Armenia, which is part of the
Soros foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices
of the Open Society Foundation in New York, a separate part of the
Soros network.
"One of the most important features of a legal state is predictability,
a lack of ambiguity," Sakunts said. "These principles are not secured
in the regulations of the Customs Union."
Sahakian, the pro-government MP, refuted Sakunts' claim as an
exaggeration. "I do not understand why human-rights activists are in
a panic," he said.
The European Union, which continues to run civil-rights-related
programs in Armenia and recommends various reforms, has said that it is
not closing the door on the country. For his part, President Sargsyan
stated in a February interview with the Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny
that Yerevan intends to continue "productively cooperating" with the
EU in such areas as the "reinforcement of democratic institutions,
protection of human rights and others."
Reforms will "successfully continue," he repeated on April 14,
without specification.
But, after six years of such statements, some ordinary Armenians are
skeptical. "Our government is doing everything the Kremlin wants, like
marionettes," scoffed 35-year-old lawyer Nvard Mnatsakanian. "Who will
believe that the reforms will continue? The main idea [for authorities]
is to keep everyone under control."
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68285
From: A. Papazian