Armenian Activist Disputes OSCE’s Decision to Terminate His Employment (VIDEO)

Environmental activist and lawyer Artur Grigoryan has disputed the legitimacy of the decision by Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to terminate the contract between Grigoryan and the OSCE for services in the field of the environment. 

“We are at the stage of arbitration. Since OSCE is protected by judicial immunity, and we can't present the case in our courts, therefore, according to the contract, arbitration is the only available way to resolve the dispute,” Grigoryan said in an interview with Epress.am. 

The official reason for termination of the contract was “breach of ethics”; in an interview, Grigoryan had, allegedly, criticized the relations between the OSCE and the Armenian Police. He, as Grigoryan pointed out to Epress.am, had actually said that the cooperation between international organizations and the Armenian government, especially its adjacent law enforcement agencies, does not contribute to development of democracy and human rights protection in any way; on the contrary, it fuels the corrupt system.

There is no clause in the contract, the activist said, that prohibits him from talking about the relations between the OSCE and any other entity. 

“Moreover, it's not even derived from the OSCE's mandate. The objective of OSCE and other international organizations is to strengthen civil society, promote freedom of speech, and develop democratic institutions. In practice, however, we witness a totally different process.

“International organizations provide all kinds of assistance to power structures; as a result, cases of terror, violence, and political persecution are increasing in the actions of these bodies, which not only do not get the assessment of international organizations, and namely the OSCE, but they continue to expand cooperation.

“The OSCE is obliged to present to the public a report on how much money has been spent as a result of its activities, on what and with what results. This activity is detrimental to civil society, since it results in an already strong entity getting even stronger; and all this power is used for the implementation of political persecution and repression of civil society,” the activist said. 

Video in Armenian