Rights defenders point to atmosphere of hatred in Armenia

In Armenia, the hate rhetoric has become a serious threat to democracy; it is used by both the former and current authorities, experts said in their comments on the parliament's decision to set up a working group to combat the spread of hatred in the country. The creation of the above working group was initiated by one of the MPs from the "My Step" ruling bloc.

The group intends to prepare a bill on mechanisms to hold people accountable for hate speech, Naira Zograbyan, the head of the Human Rights and Public Affairs Commission of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia, who is also a member of the above working group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on January 28.

"In Armenia, the hatred rhetoric has become a serious threat to democracy. Unfortunately, the ruling party has made a serious contribution to this situation, by dividing the society into 'black' and 'white'," Ms Zograbyan has noted.

In the opinion of Artak Kirakosyan, a rights defender and the chairman of the Public Organization (PO) "Civil Society Institute", the main problem with the spread of hatred in Armenia is the presence of hate speech not only among the opposition, but also among government officials.

According to his story, the rhetoric of hatred was in Armenia well before the revolution. "Just then, it was considered a common issue; while the current authorities would not accept any criticism, considering it illogical, because they seem to be legitimate authorities," Mr Kirakosyan has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 29, 2020 at 07:43 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.