1. Human rights and freedoms can only be guaranteed in a
democracy.
Democracy and human rights are at the heart of the country's
security.
2. It is the democratic processes that ensure the barring of
intolerance, curbing of tensions, and guarantee the development of events
within conditions of solidarity.
Henceforth, under no circumstances should extremist developments
be permitted to take place.
3. Therefore, all democratic institutions must be active these
days, they must not revert to any passivity or inactivity.
4. Article 2 of the Constitution of our country stipulates that
power in the Republic of Armenia belongs to the people.
This is a fundamental legal provision of direct democracy.
5. The same article of the Constitution stipulates that the
people exercise their power through free elections, referendums, as well as
through state and local self-government bodies, and carried out by officials
sanctioned by the Constitution.
This means that the Constitution has declared a representative
democracy as a fundamental principle which must be adhered to.
6. One of the foundations of representative democracy is
parliamentarism, and the parliament in a country, especially in a country with
a parliamentary system of government.
7. In particular, the irreplaceable role of the parliament in
difficult and crisis situations should be considered as being a balancing and
restraining institution, providing solutions from the arising circumstances.
It is worrying that the sessions initiated by the opposition
factions have not been held in parliament for several days now, and the current
issues on the agenda are not being discussed. To be clear, the parliament has
been invisible to the public.
The passivity of democratic institutions, and foremost the
parliament, has a negative impact on the peaceful resolution of the situation
in the country.
This forces the development of events beyond democratic
institutions, which in turn can increase tensions.
8. The Human Rights Defender's Office is also monitoring recent
demonstrations organized by both the government and the opposition.
9. First of all, we consider it necessary to state that the
freedom of peaceful assembly is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic
of Armenia and the international obligations undertaken by the Republic of
Armenia.
One of the goals of freedom of peaceful assembly is to provide a
platform for public debate and an opportunity to express open grievances,
especially if there is a circumstance of public importance which the public
deems urgent.
10. We emphasize in particular that ensuring the full and safe
exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly is a positive obligation of the state.
11. In spite of all this, the Human Rights Defender's Office
recorded unacceptable phenomena — high volume of insults and hate speech. This
situation is observed and is even more prevalent on social networks.
This is very worrying, first of all, in the sense that it leads
society to polarization, and it foments radicalization of approaches.
12. In particular, insulting and intolerant expressions were
recorded during rallies and marches in support of political power, in
particular by the participants in demonstrations and rallies directed at those
organized by the opposition.
13. The same impermissible phenomena has been noted in the form
of the unacceptable vocabulary and actions used by the participants and some
speakers or organizers during the rallies and marches of the opposition with an
increase of insulting language and heightened intolerance.
14. In this regard, the staged demonstration of the death
penalty during a rally on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan today is highly
reprehensible.
It is most reprehensible that the staging was shown during the
mass gathering, especially in conditions when the gathering was broadcast live
in the mass media, targeting the general public, including the obvious
disregard that it would be widely accessible to be viewed by children as well.
The organizers of the demonstration must keep in mind that such
events are clearly associated with violence, and give the impression of
condoning and justifying violence (the specific purpose of this statement is
not a dissertation on the limits of creative freedom).
15. Therefore, the organizers of the demonstrations, regardless
of whether they are organized by the government or the opposition, are
obligated to be extremely vigilant, to show restraint, to do everything
possible to ensure the peaceful nature of the gathering, and to exclude any
form conduct which heightens tensions.
We must keep in mind that the country is already in a difficult
post-war period, and our society is, understandably so, very tense emotionally.
16. In our country, all processes must be conducted exclusively
in a democratic way, and consistent with that which is provided by the
Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Armenia, with conditions of
exceptional respect towards human rights, and with solidarity.
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