The Pashinyan-era prosecution service and investigative bodies are spending enormous time and human resources searching the internet for insults, as well as calls for “violence” and for “overthrowing the constitutional order,” and responding to them accordingly. Incidentally, other state institutions have also been enlisted in this “noble cause” — for example, the leadership of Yerevan State University and Public Radio. And let’s note that all these processes began precisely under Pashinyan, in what is officially described as a “bastion of democracy.”
The fight against “hate speech” is carried out in a highly selective manner. When such language is used by representatives of the authorities or their propagandists, it attracts no attention from state bodies whatsoever. For instance, the person who called for the Catholicos to be stoned to death has not faced any accountability — not even a fine. Can you imagine how many years in prison a citizen would get for making a similar call about the Prime Minister?
What does this mean? It means the authorities are effectively telling their supporters: go ahead — swear, threaten, insult — we’ve got your back. Both in terms of systemic signals and by personal example, everything flows from the authorities and their top representatives. When even the deputy director of the Prime Minister’s Office Public Relations and Information Center speaks in such a manner, can I reasonably assume that this very institution is where hate speech and abuse against opposition figures and journalists are being coordinated?
Many argue that the problem lies not in the upbringing, intellectual level, or cultural mindset of Pashinyan, Civil Contract, and the foul-mouthed figures they have bred and backed, but in their politics. And indeed. To prosecute threats, insults, and broadly defined “offensive speech” when they come from “outsiders,” while at the same time using such language and encouraging it among “insiders” — this goes beyond personal traits and becomes policy.
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… Civil Contract MPs talk about “kicking out” their senior colleagues. As far as I know, the ruling party had adopted a code of ethics.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
