“Governing party’s policy does not inspire confidence”
The Foreign Policy Centre, UK's most prominent independent progressive foreign affairs think tank, has published a report on Armenia. "Spotlight on Armenia" provides a clear analysis of the major challenges Armenia faces regarding democratic development, rule of law, media freedom, corruption and other human rights issues, while examining the impact of its international relationships on domestic politics. It argues for greater UK, EU and Western engagement in Armenia but that increased incentives must be matched by stronger pressure for reform.
Edited by Adam Hug (Foreign Policy Centre) the pamphlet contains contributions from leading Armenia experts.
"The governing party's track record on reform does not inspire confidence that the changes President Serzh Sargsyan is hinting at will become a reality, with Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan's previous reform drive having stalled, unwilling to take on difficult problems or entrenched interests according to analysts. The fear remains that changes will be primarily cosmetic in nature, using such positive public relations messages to consolidate its position in advance of elections," reads the report.
The authors of the report argue that pace of reform has been slow, much better on paper than in practice, and that this is undermining the hopes and aspirations of the Armenian people.
In the section titled "Media freedom in Armenia: One step forward, two steps back" the report dwells on the state of Armenian media, including the embattled TV Company A1+.
The report is available at http://fpc.org.uk/publications/spotlightonarmenia.
