FREEDOM HOUSE
FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2004
ARMENIA
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 4
Status: Partly Free
GNI per capita: $790
Population: 3,200,000
Life Expectancy: 72
Religious Groups: Armenian Apostolic (94 percent),other Christian (4
percent), Yezidi (2 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Armenian (93 percent), Azeri (3 percent),Russian (2 percent),
other [including Kurd] (2 percent)
Capital: Yerevan
Trend Arrow: Armenia received a downward trend arrow for the holding of
presidential and parliamentary polls that failed to meet international
standards for democratic elections, and for the arrest and detention of
large numbers of opposition supporters.
Ten Year Ratings Timeline [OMMITTED]
Overview
The political scene in Armenia was dominated for much of 2003 by
developments surrounding the February-March presidential election and the
May parliamentary vote, both of which were condemned by international
election observers for failing to meet democratic standards. President
Robert Kocharian was reelected in a controversial second-round runoff,
taking office despite mass street demonstrations against the election
results and the detention of hundreds of opposition supporters.
Pro-presidential parties gained a majority in parliament and formed a
three-party coalition government following legislative elections. The final
verdict in the trial of those accused in the October 1999 shootings in
parliament had not been reached by November 30, while the brother of a key
opposition leader was convicted in a murder case allegedly linked to the
parliament killings. Meanwhile, ties with Russia were further strengthened
during the year as Moscow extended its control over Armenia’s energy sector.
Following a brief period of independence from 1918 to 1920, part of the
predominantly Christian Transcaucasus republic of Armenia became a Soviet
republic in 1922, while the western portion was ceded to Turkey. Armenia
declared its independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991.
The banning of nine political parties prior to the 1995 parliamentary
elections ensured the dominance of President Levon Ter Petrosian’s ruling
Armenian National Movement’s (ANM) coalition. In February 1998, Petrosian
stepped down following the resignation of key officials in protest over his
gradualist approach to solving the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the
disputed Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Robert Kocharian,
the former president of Nagorno-Karabakh, was elected president in March
with the support of the previously banned Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutiun.
Parliamentary elections in May 1999 resulted in an overwhelming victory for
the Unity bloc, a new alliance of Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian’s
Republican Party and former Soviet Armenian leader Karen Demirchian’s
People’s Party, which campaigned on a populist platform of greater state
involvement in the economy and increased social spending. In June, Sarkisian
was named prime minister and Demirchian became speaker of parliament.
Kocharian’s relationship with Sarkisian and Demirchian was marked by power
struggles and policy differences.
The country was plunged into a political crisis on October 27, when five
gunmen stormed the parliament building and assassinated Sarkisian,
Demirchian, and several other senior government officials. The leader of the
gunmen, Nairi Hunanian, maintained that he and the other assailants had
acted alone in an attempt to incite a popular revolt against the government.
Meanwhile, allegations that Kocharian or members of his inner circle had
orchestrated the shootings prompted opposition calls for the president to
resign. However, because of an apparent lack of evidence, prosecutors did
not press charges against Kocharian, who gradually consolidated his power
over the following year. In May 2000, Kocharian named Republican Party
leader Andranik Markarian as prime minister, replacing Vazgen Sarkisian’s
younger brother, Aram, who had served in the position for only five months
following the parliament shootings.
The trial of the five gunmen, plus eight others charged with complicity in
the parliament shootings, began in February 2001 and finally ended on
November 14, 2003. A final verdict had not been reached by the end of
November. More than four years after the massacre, many in the country
continue to believe that the gunmen were acting on orders from others and
accuse the authorities of a high-level coverup about the identity of the
masterminds of the attacks.
Despite earlier pledges by much of the perennially divided opposition to
field a joint candidate in the February 19, 2003, presidential election in
order to improve its chances of defeating Kocharian, several parties
eventually decided to nominate their own candidates. Among the nine
challengers in the presidential poll, Kocharian officially received 49.48
percent of the vote, followed by Stepan Demirchian, son of the late Karen
Demirchian, with 28.22 percent. Since no candidate received the 50 percent
plus 1 vote necessary for a first-round victory, a second-round vote was
schedule for March 5 between the top two finishers. According to
international election observers, including the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the election fell short of international
standards for democratic elections, with the voting, counting, and
tabulation processes showing serious irregularities. Other problems noted
included media bias in favor of the incumbent and political imbalances in
the election commissions.
During the days that followed, thousands rallied in the largest peaceful
demonstrations in Yerevan in years to protest alleged election falsification
and show support for Stepan Demirchian. According to a highly critical Human
Rights Watch report, police used controversial Soviet-era legislation to
arrest hundreds of opposition supporters. More than 100 were sentenced in
closed-door trials to two weeks in prison on charges of hooliganism and
participating in unsanctioned demonstrations.
In the March 5 second-round runoff, Kocharian was reelected with 67.44
percent of the vote, while Demirchian received 32.56 percent. International
observers echoed many of the same criticisms as those expressed regarding
the first-round vote. The next two months saw further mass protests against
the final results of the election and more arrests and detentions reported.
The Constitutional Court rejected appeals by opposition leaders to
invalidate the election results, although it did propose holding a
“referendum of confidence” in Kocharian within the next year to allay
widespread doubts about the validity of the election returns. Kocharian
promptly replied that he would not comply with the proposal.
The political atmosphere remained tense leading up to the May 25
parliamentary poll. Several hundred candidates were registered to compete
for the 56 singlemandate seats, while 17 parties and 4 electoral blocs
contested the 75 seats to be distributed under the proportional
representation system. The pro-presidential Republican Party, Orinats Yerkir
(Country of Law), and Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun
secured 40, 19, and 11 seats, respectively. The Artarutiun (Justice) bloc,
which was formed in March and is comprised of more than a dozen opposition
parties, came in third place with a total of 15 seats. Thus, deputies
backing Kocharian, including a number of independent candidates who broadly
support the president, secured a majority in parliament. For the first time,
the Communist Party failed to pass the 5 percent threshold required to gain
seats under the proportional system. The OSCE and Council of Europe noted
improvements in the freedom and fairness of the campaign and media coverage
when compared with the earlier presidential poll. However, they concluded
that the election still fell short of international standards for democratic
elections, particularly with regard to the counting and tabulation of votes.
Artarutiun refused to recognize the validity of the election returns; a
formal appeal of the results was subsequently rejected by the Constitutional
Court.
A concurrent referendum on a package of constitutional amendments,
representing a wide range of issues and nearly 80 percent of the
constitution’s articles, was rejected by voters. The amendments reportedly
were not widely publicized or well understood by most of the electorate.
Although some of the proposed changes were originally intended to curb some
of the disproportionate powers of the presidency in relation to other
branches of government, opposition parties had argued that the amendments
would actually increase them. Other amendments included abolishing a ban on
dual citizenship, allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections, and
granting foreigners the right to own land in Armenia.
On June 11, the Republican Party, Orinats Yerkir, and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun agreed to form a coalition
government despite disagreements over some substantive policy issues and the
distribution of government posts among the three parties. Andranik Markarian
remained prime minister, while Orinats Yerkir chairman Artur Baghdasarian
was named speaker of parliament. The following day, Artarutiun and another
opposition party elected to parliament, the National Unity Party, boycotted
the opening session of parliament to protest the results of the
parliamentary election; they finally ended the boycott in early September.
In a politically sensational case, Armen Sarkisian, the brother of former
prime ministers Aram and Vazgen, was convicted on November 18 of ordering
the December 28, 2002, murder of Tigran Naghdalian, the head of Armenian
Public Television and Radio. Sarkisian was sentenced to 15 years in prison,
as was the trigger man, John Harutiunian, while another 11 defendants
received prison sentences of 7 to 12 years. The prosecution had argued that
Sarkisian had ordered the murder in revenge because he believed that
Naghdalian was somehow involved in the October 1999 parliament shootings, in
which his brother Vazgen had been killed. However, some opposition members
maintained that the case was a politically motivated campaign against
Armen’s brother, Aram, a vocal critic of Kocharian’s leadership. They also
believed that the murder was part of a government cover-up to prevent
Naghdalian from testifying in the ongoing trial over the parliament
shootings; Naghdalian had been in the control room of his television station
when the shootings, which were recorded on videocassettes, occurred. Critics
of the verdict questioned the validity of the evidence in the case against
him; in August, Harutiunian retracted pretrial testimony that Armen had
ordered the murder, contending that he had signed his original testimony
under duress.
Relations with Russia, which counts Armenia as its closest ally in the
Caucasus, continued to be strengthened during the year. In exchange for a
write-off of its considerable debts to Moscow, Yerevan agreed to transfer
key state-owned assets to Moscow, including six hydroelectric power plants.
In September, Armenia ratified an agreement to transfer financial control of
the Medzamor nuclear power plant to Russia. These deals will provide Moscow,
with its already substantial military interests in Armenia, with additional
political and economic leverage over Yerevan.
Despite ongoing international pressure to resolve the long-standing
NagornoKarabakh conflict, little progress was made during the year on
reaching a breakthrough. Sporadic exchanges of fire along the ceasefire line
continued, but did not escalate into full-scale fighting. At the same time,
neither Kocharian nor Azerbaijan’s president Heydar Aliev appeared willing
to risk the domestic political consequences of making major public
concessions over the disputed territory, particularly during a presidential
election year in both countries.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Armenians cannot change their government democratically. The 1995 and 1999
parliamentary and 1996 presidential elections were characterized by serious
irregularities. The most recent presidential and parliamentary polls, in
February-March and May 2003, respectively, were strongly criticized by
international election monitors, who cited widespread fraud particularly in
the presidential vote. The 1995 constitution provides for a weak legislature
and a strong, directly elected president who appoints the prime minister.
Most parties in Armenia are dominated by specific government officials or
other powerful figures, suffer from significant internal dissent and
division, or are weak and ineffective. President Robert Kocharian formally
belongs to no political party, but instead relies on the support of a number
of both large and small political groups, including the Republican Party of
Prime Minister Adranik Markarian. Bribery and nepotism are reportedly quite
common among government bureaucrats. In November 2003, the government
approved a long-awaited anticorruption program that had been drafted with
the support of the World Bank.
There are some limits on freedom of the press, and self-censorship among
journalists is common, particularly in reporting on Nagorno-Karabakh,
national security, or corruption issues. While most newspapers are privately
owned, the majority operate with limited resources and consequently are
dependent on economic and political interest groups for their survival.
There are a number of private television stations, and most radio stations
are privately owned. In April 2003, journalist Mger Galechian was assaulted
in his office by a group of assailants and was hospitalized with head
injuries. Galechian was a correspondent for the opposition newspaper Chorrod
Iskhanutyun, known for being strongly critical of the government. As of
November 30, parliament had not yet adopted the final version of a
controversial draft media law. International organizations and media
watchdogs criticized provisions, including one requiring media organizations
to reveal their sources of funding and another permitting the courts to
compel journalists to disclose their sources to protect the public interest.
Meanwhile, the criminal code makes libel an offense punishable by up to
three years in prison, while insulting a public official could lead to two
year’s imprisonment.
On April 3, 2002, the independent television station A1+ lost its license
after the national television and radio broadcasting commission granted a
tender for its broadcasting frequency to an entertainment channel.
Journalists and opposition politicians criticized the closure of A1+, which
had a reputation for objective reporting, as a politically motivated
decision to control media coverage in the run-up to the 2003 presidential
and parliamentary elections. Following the decision, thousands of people
demonstrated in a number of weekly protests over the station’s closure and
to demand President Kocharian’s resignation. In 2003, additional bids by A1+
for a broadcast frequency were rejected.
Freedom of religion is somewhat respected. The Armenian Apostolic Church,
to which 90 percent of Armenians formally belong, enjoys a privileged status
and has advocated for restrictions on nontraditional denominations. While 50
religious groups are officially registered, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have
been denied registration repeatedly because of the group’s strong opposition
to compulsory military service; 23 members are in prison for practicing
conscientious objection.Draft legislation providing for alternative military
service was pending in parliament as of November 2003. The law’s adoption is
likely to clear the way for the registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In general, the government does not restrict academic freedom. In September
2002, the Ministry of Education ordered the compulsory display of the
portraits of Kocharian and the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
secondary schools. The history of the Apostolic Church is a required school
subject.
The government generally respects freedom of assembly and association,
although the registration requirements for nongovernmental associations are
cumbersome and time-consuming. According to a report by Human Rights Watch,
the authorities abused administrative detention regulations to intimidate
and punish peaceful demonstrators and political activists following the
February 2003 presidential election. More than 100 activists were sentenced
to up to 15 days in prison for attending or engaging in acts of hooliganism
at rallies that the authorities said were unauthorized, the report stated.
The authorities arrested some individuals who were not protest organizers,
even though only leaders–and not mere participants-of unauthorized rallies
may be penalized under the country’s code of administrative offenses. After
major international organizations, including the OSCE and Council of Europe,
condemned the crackdowns, the authorities began to release some of the
arrested at the beginning of March. While the constitution enshrines the
right to form and join trade unions, in practice, labor organizations are
weak and relatively inactive.
The judiciary, which is subject to political pressure from the executive
branch, is characterized by widespread violations of due process. Police
frequently make arbitrary arrests without warrants, beat detainees during
arrest and interrogation, and use torture to extract confessions. A Human
Rights Watch report concluded that police denied access to legal counsel to
those opposition supporters who were given short prison terms for
participating in unauthorized rallies after the 2003 presidential vote. The
accused were sentenced in closed trials and denied the opportunity to
present evidence or lodge formal appeals. In April, the Constitutional Court
declared that these and other related arrests were unlawful. However, the
Council of Justice, a judicial oversight body headed by Kocharian, rejected
the Court’s recommendation to investigate the mass arrests and the conduct
of those judges who had issued the detention sentences.
In September 2003, parliament voted to abolish the death penalty in all
cases by ratifying Protocol 6 of the Council of Europe’s Convention on the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Although the abolition
of capital punishment was a major obligation of Armenia’s membership in the
Council of Europe, the government had delayed ratifying Protocol 6 largely
because of widespread support for the use of the death penalty against the
suspects in the October 1999 parliament shootings. In November, Kocharian
signed amendments to a new criminal code denying parole to those sentenced
to life imprisonment for grave crimes, including terrorist acts and
assassinations of public figures. The amendments were regarded as a
guarantee that those on trial for the parliament shootings would never be
released from prison.
Although members of the country’s tiny ethnic minority population rarely
report cases of overt discrimination, they have complained about
difficulties receiving education in their native languages.
Freedom of travel and residence is largely respected. However, registering
changes in residency is sometimes complicated by the need to negotiate with
an inefficient or corrupt government bureaucracy. While citizens have the
right to own private property and establish businesses, an inefficient and
often corrupt court system and unfair business competition hinder
operations. Key industries remain in the hands of oligarchs and influential
clans who received preferential treatment in the early stages of
privatization.
Domestic violence and trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of
prostitution are believed to be serious problems. In June 2003, the U.S.
State Department issued a report that cited Armenia as among those countries
making significant efforts to comply with minimum requirements for
eliminating trafficking. Traditional societal norms tend to limit women’s
professional opportunities to more low-skilled jobs.
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