FREEDOM HOUSE ASSESSMENTS CAN BE VIEWED AS PRESSURE ON ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 12:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Heritage party secretary Larisa Alaverdyan said
she can’t approve Freedom House Country Report on Armenia, since the
organization displays a politicized approach to the problem.

"Freedom House’s assessments can be viewed as pressure on Armenia,
possibly conditioned by the Armenian-Turkish relations or the Karabakh
conflict settlement process. If Armenia were more flexible in the
Karabakh issue, the language of the report would have been milder,"
she said.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports
the expansion of freedom around the world. Freedom House supports
democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and
human rights.

The organization was founded by Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt
in 1941, and describes itself as "a clear voice for democracy and
freedom around the world." The group states "American leadership in
international affairs is essential to the cause of human rights and
freedom" and that this can primarily be achieved through the group’s
"analysis, advocacy, and action". Freedom House receives about 66% of
its budget from the U.S. government and is criticized for furthering
the latter’s interests.

Founded in 2002, Heritage , a National Liberal Party, is national by
its roots, liberal in its economic principle, and an advocate of the
democratic system of governance and due process for its citizens. The
party’s objective is the development of Armenia as a democratic,
lawful, and rights-based country that anchors its domestic and foreign
policies in the nation’s sovereign interest. During the party’s Third
Congress on May 30, 2005, Raffi K. Hovannisian was elected chairman.

The other eight members of the party board were elected by secret vote.