Lawyer: Armenia is an authoritarian state from now on

ArmInfo.  As of today, Armenia is an authoritarian state, as stated by lawyer Tatevik  Soghoyan during a panel discussion titled "Armenia on the Path to  Authoritarianism", held today, July 15, in Yerevan.

Soghoyan noted that a stereotype has emerged within the international  community that assessments of a state's political system are  exclusively the domain of the European community or the so-called  "collective West." She pointed out that there are several major  global powers—such as China, India, and Brazil— that do not set  themselves the task of assessing other countries and their systems.

She further recalled that, within the Western framework, a country's  democratic standing is determined by three primary indicators: the  observance of fundamental human rights, the integrity of electoral  processes, and the balance of state governance bodies.

The lawyer stated that all of these principles are being violated in  Armenia today. According to her, these same Western structures are  currently doing nothing to foster a democratic environment in  Armenia. She expressed her conviction that, by and large, the West  has ceased to prioritize whether a nation is democratic or not.

"For instance, look at Georgia; it has undergone so many changes, yet  no one is currently discussing whether it is democratic. Democracy  has been set aside. The current narrative focuses on whether a  country is 'with them' or not. The same applies to Ukraine. Ukraine's  democratic metrics are not mentioned in any context of European  civilization. No one says, 'We want to protect Ukraine because it is  democratic.' Instead, they say, 'We want to protect it because it is  with us.' Based on this, and considering the foundational criteria  used to measure democracy, we are, from this point forward, an  authoritarian state," Soghoyan concluded.