The
atmosphere in which the pre-election campaign is taking place is very worrying.
It deepens the polarization in the society and undermines the prospect of
restoring solidarity in the country.
To
continue like this is unacceptable.
All
political actors must refrain from insults and swearing and any speech related
to hatred and violence.
The
candidates for the post of Prime Minister from all political forces
participating in the elections must take into consideration that every word
they use is spread to their supporters, and then their respective supporters
insult and curse each other using the same expressions.
Politicians
who are candidates for the post of Prime Minister of Armenia must be especially
careful about the words they use, and take into consideration their figurative
meanings.
Today,
the threats of the acting Prime Minister of Armenia about civil-political
vendettas, civil revenge, widespread staff cuts, and the use of swear words are
very worrying. It is unacceptable to bring such a vocabulary to the public
sphere, especially to the electoral process.
Whatever
their interpretation, the aforementioned vendettas and civil revenge are
clearly associated with violence and vengeance, and the staff cuts with massive
violations of labor rights. The real danger of such rhetoric is that it exacerbates
existing tensions, and presents dangerous real-life risks. It is true that the
acting Prime Minister of Armenia emphasized that this rhetoric is not about
physical revenge, but it is obvious that this clarification did not neutralize
the dangerous impact of the aforementioned statements.
We
repeat that the reference of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia to the acting
Prime Minister of is made especially due to the fact that in addition to
politics, he continues to maintain the status of the head of the executive
power of Armenia, regardless of whether he is on leave or not. For this reason,
the conduct falls within the direct mandate of the Human Rights Defender.
It is
by virtue of this status that the speech of the acting Prime Minister of Armenia
may be misunderstood by the public, as well as misleading messages by state
bodies and, firstly, law enforcement bodies.
The
monitoring of the Office of the Human Rights Defender reveals that in the areas
of social media where posts with the titles "civil revenge,"
"vendetta" and other similar titles were shared, rhetoric of insults
and hatred, cursing and
mutual accusations were recorded. These posts prove once again that the
clarification that physical retaliation will not occur had no [neutralizing] effect
[on societal discourse].
The
monitoring of social networks shows that in the context of violence, the topic
of the “duel” between the candidate for Prime Minister of the
"Armenia" alliance and the candidate for Prime Minister of the
"Civil Contract" party-the acting Prime Minister of Armenia-is being
discussed within a context of violence.
In
addition to the abovementioned, today, during a meeting with the acting Prime
Minister of Armenia, one of the citizens mentioned that he was fired for not
voting for the candidate of the "Armenia" alliance, according to the
citizen.
This
statement refers to the violation of a number of other labor rights. A separate
letter from the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia will be
addressed to the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia.
Mr.
Arman Tatoyan
Human
Rights Defender of Armenia
Հայերեն
