YEREVAN. – Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan's yesterday statement points to the fact that despite the claims, democracy in Armenia is making a tremendous step backward, deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan wrote on Facebook.
Summing up 100 days of the new government's work, Arpine Hovhannisyan said there are several signals that the freedom of speech is endangered.
First of all, the idea that the Armenian Cabinet has to make decisions unanimously without any vote against is voiced during the government’s sessions, Hovhannisyan said.
“The prime minister is making not targeted statements at the same time targeting ‘anti-state’ activities of the mass media,” she said.
The deputy speaker points to the fact that “in case of any criticism voiced against the new government” there are immediate calls “to say no to the media, while personal insults against a reporter are voiced”.
“Any different opinion or thought is considered as ‘anti-revolutionary’ and language of hatred appears in social media,” Hovhannisyan said.
“I have had hopes so far that protection of freedom of speech is important for the government, since democracy, which was proclaimed by the government as the cor...