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ARMENIA: IS YEREVAN DOING THE KREMLIN'S BIDDING TO 'NEUTRALIZE' NGOS?
The Moscow Times, Russian Federation
March 9 2015
By Marianna Grigoryan
Activists in Armenia are worrying that new government-proposed
requirements for nongovernmental organizations will undermine Armenia's
relatively freely functioning civil-society sector. Some believe that
the Armenian government, in mulling upending the status quo, is seeking
to please the country's economic and strategic overlord -- Russia.
In 2014, the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Freedom House
lauded Armenia's civil society as "active, diverse and independent."
The proposed amendments threaten to throw Armenia's civil-society
sector into reverse gear.
Under amendments to Armenia's law on nongovernmental organizations,
drafted last November, NGOs would need to provide officials with
detailed, annual financial reports, as well as be subjected to a
yearly audit. The government would be able to petition a court to
annul the registration of any NGO that fails twice to comply with
these requirements. Justice Ministry officials also would be able to
attend NGO board meetings.
A vote on the amendments has not yet been scheduled in the Armenian
parliament.
Under current regulations, Armenian NGOs need only to file an annual
tax return. Many activists view the proposed added requirements as
onerous, and designed to stifle NGO activity, especially that which
seeks to hold the government accountable for its actions.
The introduction of the amendments, some believe, is an outgrowth of
Armenia's move in January to join the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic
Union. The EEU is seen in some circles in Yerevan as a vehicle for
the expansion of Moscow's already broad influence over the tiny,
economically underdeveloped South Caucasus nation.
Last May, in an interview with the Moscow-based Noyan Tapan news
agency, Russia's ambassador to Armenia, Ivan Volinkin, called
for "neutralization" of those NGOs that "create obstacles" for
Armenian-Russian relations. Supporters of the Armenian government
subsequently warned that no NGO can drive a wedge into its relations
with Russia.
In recent weeks, Russia has renewed its pressure on Armenia to roll
back NGO liberties. On Feb. 26, a prominent Russian legislator,
Konstantin Kosachev, claimed that the activity of "around 350" NGOs
is undermining Armenia's ties with Russia by encouraging Armenians
to embrace European values.
"We do not see their [NGOs'] work as correct because we do not see
it as correct to put the question in the form of an either-or --
you are either with us or with them," said Kosachev, according to
the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. "This position has already or
almost destroyed Ukraine and might destroy any other country if the
question is asked persistently and head-on."
Armenian officials insist they are motivated only by a desire to
introduce greater transparency and public accountability into the work
of NGOs. The issue is not about control, stressed Norayr Balayan,
head of the Ministry of Justice's Legal Department, the agency that
drafted the proposed amendments.
After receiving input from NGO representatives, "certain changes" now
are being made to the draft amendments, Balayan told EurasiaNet.org.
He declined to elaborate on any modifications, pending the release
of the "final version" of the amendments.
Despite Balayan's assurances, NGO representatives worry that the new
regulations, if adopted, could be used against them -- particularly
if Russia increases pressure on Armenian officials to do so.
"To the government, transparency and accountability are completely
different things" than they are to nongovernmental organizations,
argued Boris Navasardian, president of the Yerevan Press Club. "If
the matter is about accountability to state officials, it will lead
to nothing good. ... Hints coming from Russia saying that the field
must become more controlled do not stem from our country's interests."
Ashot Melikyan, chair of the nongovernmental Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression, agreed, adding that the amendments, if enacted
as presently worded, "will lead to nothing good."
The need to comply with additional regulations will eat into
nongovernmental organizations' time and money, and potentially create
a significant burden, especially among those NGOs with a small staff.
"In order to present reports in such volume, NGOs [would have to]
employ separate staff," said Stepan Grigoryan, director of the
nongovernmental Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation.
Human rights activist Artur Sakunts shared critics' concerns about
the proposed new regulations, but noted that discussions continue
about the amendments.
"Our suggestions are also considered," said Sakunts, who runs the
Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly. "But there are
still questions that are under discussion and it is not yet clear
what the solutions will be."
[Editor's Note: Both the Analytical Center on Globalization and
Regional Cooperation and the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly receive
funding from the Open Society Foundations -- Armenia, part of the Soros
foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of
the Open Society Foundations, a separate entity in the Soros network.]
Boris Navasardian, the press club head, lamented that the amendments
could undo years of hard work in an instant. "If Russia's experience
is applied, naturally enough, all our accumulated experience and
achievements will disappear. Both the society and the state will lose
as a result," he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/armenia-is-yerevan-doing-the-kremlin-s-bidding-to-neutralize-ngos/517167.html
The Moscow Times, Russian Federation
March 9 2015
By Marianna Grigoryan
Activists in Armenia are worrying that new government-proposed
requirements for nongovernmental organizations will undermine Armenia's
relatively freely functioning civil-society sector. Some believe that
the Armenian government, in mulling upending the status quo, is seeking
to please the country's economic and strategic overlord -- Russia.
In 2014, the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Freedom House
lauded Armenia's civil society as "active, diverse and independent."
The proposed amendments threaten to throw Armenia's civil-society
sector into reverse gear.
Under amendments to Armenia's law on nongovernmental organizations,
drafted last November, NGOs would need to provide officials with
detailed, annual financial reports, as well as be subjected to a
yearly audit. The government would be able to petition a court to
annul the registration of any NGO that fails twice to comply with
these requirements. Justice Ministry officials also would be able to
attend NGO board meetings.
A vote on the amendments has not yet been scheduled in the Armenian
parliament.
Under current regulations, Armenian NGOs need only to file an annual
tax return. Many activists view the proposed added requirements as
onerous, and designed to stifle NGO activity, especially that which
seeks to hold the government accountable for its actions.
The introduction of the amendments, some believe, is an outgrowth of
Armenia's move in January to join the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic
Union. The EEU is seen in some circles in Yerevan as a vehicle for
the expansion of Moscow's already broad influence over the tiny,
economically underdeveloped South Caucasus nation.
Last May, in an interview with the Moscow-based Noyan Tapan news
agency, Russia's ambassador to Armenia, Ivan Volinkin, called
for "neutralization" of those NGOs that "create obstacles" for
Armenian-Russian relations. Supporters of the Armenian government
subsequently warned that no NGO can drive a wedge into its relations
with Russia.
In recent weeks, Russia has renewed its pressure on Armenia to roll
back NGO liberties. On Feb. 26, a prominent Russian legislator,
Konstantin Kosachev, claimed that the activity of "around 350" NGOs
is undermining Armenia's ties with Russia by encouraging Armenians
to embrace European values.
"We do not see their [NGOs'] work as correct because we do not see
it as correct to put the question in the form of an either-or --
you are either with us or with them," said Kosachev, according to
the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. "This position has already or
almost destroyed Ukraine and might destroy any other country if the
question is asked persistently and head-on."
Armenian officials insist they are motivated only by a desire to
introduce greater transparency and public accountability into the work
of NGOs. The issue is not about control, stressed Norayr Balayan,
head of the Ministry of Justice's Legal Department, the agency that
drafted the proposed amendments.
After receiving input from NGO representatives, "certain changes" now
are being made to the draft amendments, Balayan told EurasiaNet.org.
He declined to elaborate on any modifications, pending the release
of the "final version" of the amendments.
Despite Balayan's assurances, NGO representatives worry that the new
regulations, if adopted, could be used against them -- particularly
if Russia increases pressure on Armenian officials to do so.
"To the government, transparency and accountability are completely
different things" than they are to nongovernmental organizations,
argued Boris Navasardian, president of the Yerevan Press Club. "If
the matter is about accountability to state officials, it will lead
to nothing good. ... Hints coming from Russia saying that the field
must become more controlled do not stem from our country's interests."
Ashot Melikyan, chair of the nongovernmental Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression, agreed, adding that the amendments, if enacted
as presently worded, "will lead to nothing good."
The need to comply with additional regulations will eat into
nongovernmental organizations' time and money, and potentially create
a significant burden, especially among those NGOs with a small staff.
"In order to present reports in such volume, NGOs [would have to]
employ separate staff," said Stepan Grigoryan, director of the
nongovernmental Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation.
Human rights activist Artur Sakunts shared critics' concerns about
the proposed new regulations, but noted that discussions continue
about the amendments.
"Our suggestions are also considered," said Sakunts, who runs the
Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly. "But there are
still questions that are under discussion and it is not yet clear
what the solutions will be."
[Editor's Note: Both the Analytical Center on Globalization and
Regional Cooperation and the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly receive
funding from the Open Society Foundations -- Armenia, part of the Soros
foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of
the Open Society Foundations, a separate entity in the Soros network.]
Boris Navasardian, the press club head, lamented that the amendments
could undo years of hard work in an instant. "If Russia's experience
is applied, naturally enough, all our accumulated experience and
achievements will disappear. Both the society and the state will lose
as a result," he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/armenia-is-yerevan-doing-the-kremlin-s-bidding-to-neutralize-ngos/517167.html