Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian authorities have made it clear to Russia that they have long begun the process of neutralizing NGOs, said Women's Resource Center of Armenia (WRCA) Executive Director Lara Aharonian (pictured) in a May 10 interview with Epress.am [AM], commenting on Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin's recent remarks and the reaction from Armenia.
In an interview with the Russian-language newspaper Noev Kovcheg ("Noah's Ark") last week, Ambassador Volynkin said that Armenia should work on neutralizing those NGOs that "want to drive a wedge between Russian-Armenian relations." In response to this statement, RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tigran Balayan on May 7 said that "no non-governmental organization can drive a wedge between Armenia and Russia, in allied relations based on the age-old friendship between the two peoples and passed the test of time. All organizations in Armenia are registered and operate under the laws of the Republic of Armenia."
According to Aharonian, NGOs in Armenia have long been subjected to harassment, and with this response, the Armenian authorities reassured Russia, making it clear the situation is under control. Aharonian believes that in both Russia and Armenia targeted are those NGO that work in the area of human rights and speak out about illegal activities of the government.
"We see attacks on civil society organizations, especially those that express independent ideas more. In various ways, by using different people, they [the authorities] do everything to weaken this power [of the NGOs]," she said.
The human rights activist considers even more dangerous the Russian ambassador's statement that Russia should be more active in asserting its presence in the information field in Armenia. Civil society, however, should not blame everything on Russia or the ambassador, she says, but "it should be able to put a stop to this." She said if the Armenian authorities are not able to do that, if there is no political leader or opposition who is able to respond to the Russian ambassador, civil society has to unite and take action.
Note, several NGOs operating in Armenia, as well as individuals previously issued a statement calling on the Armenian authorities to call Russian Ambassador Ivan Volynkin to order.