Mikael Danielyan: Election is a show, you only need to buy a ticket
Human rights defenders in Armenia do not feel protected; they can be subjected to violence at any time, says Mikael Danielyan, Chairman of Armenian Helsinki Association.
The number of encroachments upon human rights defenders has not shown a decline over the past years. There has been no progress in this regard," Mr Danielyan said after a consultation focusing on the situation of human rights defenders in Armenia.
"The reason is the atmosphere created by the authorities," said the human rights defender. "To come out of the situation we should unseat the authorities. Unless we have a liberal and democratic government we cannot talk about these issues."
With regard to the upcoming presidential vote, Mikael Danielyan said, "It is nothing but a show. You can but a ticket, sit in the front rows and follow the farce. It will be interesting," he said.
