Democracy Watch

By Tigran Grigoryan and Karena Avedissian The Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) is set to be dissolved, with its management transitioning to the State Property Management Committee. ANIF is a governmental organization established in 2019, with a mandate “to consolidate and effectively manage the ownership of Armenian state-owned enterprises, to promote export growth and investments in Armenia by […]

By Tigran Grigoryan and Karena Avedissian Ruling party links protesters to Russia on social media accounts Leaders of the protest movement opposing the transfer of four Tavush villages to Azerbaijan are demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. And in recent days, they have become targets of a coordinated social media disinformation campaign. A […]

Violent Dispersion of Protesters in Kirants Police have violently dispersed demonstrators protesting the handover of four villages to Azerbaijan. The detainment of three dozen protesters who were blocking the road in Kirants, Tavush region violates Armenian citizens’ right to peaceful assembly. Armenian human rights defender Artur Sakunts notes that “when peaceful demonstrators are detained, law enforcement must […]

Introduction Welcome to DEMOCRACY WATCH, brought to you by CivilNet and the Regional Center for Democracy and Security. Weekly recaps will highlight and examine the pivotal challenges facing Armenia’s democratic institutions.  Political Repression On April 15, opposition activist Samvel Vardanyan confronted ruling party deputy Hakob Aslanyan on a bus and began insulting him. After this […]

The past week saw a surge in the use of divisive and polarizing language by key political figures in Armenia. The government’s decision earlier this month to initiate the delimitation process with Azerbaijan has sparked a significant public backlash, as many see the government’s current approach as unilateral and devoid of consensus. Here are three […]