The US Sees a Setback in Armenia: 'Haykakan Zhamanak'

According to the newspaper 'Haykakan Zhamanak', in recent months, there has been a noticeable increase in dissatisfaction among Western authorities and international organizations regarding the behavior of the Armenian government. This is evident from the complaints of Soros-affiliated circles and the behavior of Western-funded media outlets, which have shifted from a pro-government stance to a position critically attacking the authorities.

Moreover, there are other indications. Recently, the US Ambassador has been holding meetings with various groups, including civil society and opposition, and has not hidden their discontent with everything happening in Armenia. They have directly stated that Armenia is experiencing a significant setback in terms of human rights and democracy.

The concerns are multifaceted, first and foremost regarding issues related to freedom of speech. US authorities are perplexed by the criminalization of defamation and insult, as well as the increased penalties. They see a problem with the bill authored by Alen Simonyan.

Another area of concern is that the law on the confiscation of illegal property is applied arbitrarily, targeting only the government’s opponents. Additionally, there is the issue of community consolidation, which, according to the American perspective, aligns with the interests of the authorities.

Finally, the US government is worried about the criminal prosecution of political opponents. It is presumed that the hasty release of the Deputy Mayor of Goris and the Mayor of Sisian is also based on these grievances.

For more details, refer to the newspaper's current issue.