{"id":2649,"date":"2017-10-17T13:27:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T13:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2017-10-18T14:44:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T14:44:27","slug":"armenia-eu-officials-making-tactical-retreat-in-values-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=2649","title":{"rendered":"Armenia: EU Officials Making Tactical Retreat in Values War"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOSHUA KUCERA
\nEurasiaNet<\/em><\/p>\n

Armenia\u2019s government has introduced long-awaited legislation to ban domestic violence, an issue that has become the key battleground in the proxy war between Western and Russian cultural influence.<\/p>\n

But as the wrangling begins over the bill, its Western backers are making a tactical retreat, hoping that a quiet approach will ultimately help the controversial legislation pass.<\/p>\n

Armenia\u2019s Justice Ministry published a draft version of the law in late September: it would, for the first time, provide protection to victims of domestic violence, including state-run shelters for abused women; and it would enable victims to obtain restraining orders against their abusers.<\/p>\n

The law is the result of a long collaboration between the Justice Ministry and the European Union, as part of a pilot project under which the EU has promised up to 12 million euros in aid<\/a> if Armenia implements specified rights reforms. In addition to addressing domestic violence, the reforms include banning discrimination against minorities, stronger measures to prevent torture, and improvements in the care of disabled children.<\/p>\n

Social conservatives have heavily criticized the proposals, saying that they would interfere with Armenia\u2019s traditional value system. Opponents have also portrayed the reform program as an attempt by the West to impose its own values on Armenia.<\/p>\n

Western officials acknowledge that those arguments have gained traction in Armenia, and caused initial efforts to pass the legislation last year to be abandoned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the law contend that opponents are secretly backed by Russia, though there has been no proof of such meddling uncovered thus far.<\/p>\n

On this second attempt to push through the legislation, Western officials are adopting a low-profile position. \u201cOne of the lessons we\u2019ve learned is to stay out of the public debate, because it should be a domestic debate,\u201d said one European embassy official in Yerevan, speaking to EurasiaNet.org on condition of anonymity. \u201cAll these gender equality, domestic violence, anti-discrimination laws, these are for the benefit of the population, and shouldn\u2019t be seen as being imposed by us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The approach has been coordinated with the Armenian government. \u201cIn order to make a favorable environment, we don\u2019t need the EU and the United States to get involved, because there is a risk that others will also intervene and that we will turn Armenia into a place where all these interests are again colliding,\u201d a senior Armenian government official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. \u201cInstead, we need to create a favorable environment where we can launch a public dialogue about these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EU is still involved in the process, organizing seminars with civil society groups to discuss the law. And a \u201cfact-checking\u201d website run by the EU has been combating what it says is Russian propaganda against the law.<\/p>\n

The introduction of the new law has \u201craised a new wave of disinformation and anti-propaganda, especially by Russian founded organizations,\u201d said the site, sut.am, in an October 6 post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s low-key approach, however, has not stopped the bill\u2019s opponents from trying to tie it to perceptions of Western cultural hegemony. An October 9 public discussion on the bill devolved into shouting matches and was suspended, but not before opponents accused the bill\u2019s backers of carrying out the demands of Western governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no public demand for this law,\u201d said Hayk Nahapetyan, a conservative activist who has been at the head of public opposition to the legislation. We know whose demands you\u2019re carrying out \u2013 Peter Svitalsky,\u201d the head of the EU delegation in Yerevan. \u201cThis is a person who, as a representative of Poland in the Council of Europe, did everything in his country to bring laws on same sex marriages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armenia\u2019s Justice Minister, Davit Harutyunyan, has pushed back against accusations that preventing domestic violence is a Western imposition. \u201cIf you think that beating a woman or a child is a national tradition, let me disagree with you and say that it is a deviation from national traditions,\u201d he told<\/a> reporters.<\/p>\n

Edmon Marukyan, an MP from the pro-Western Yelk bloc, said that without EU pressure, the government would not have pursued the legislation. \u201cEvery reform in Armenia happens because the EU institutions push it. If not, there are no incentives for this regime to reform anything,\u201d he told EurasiaNet.org.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any case, you will have such arguments [about the West imposing its values], even if there is no support\u201d from the West, he added.<\/p>\n

While a Russian hand in opposition to the bill remains unproven, Russia has not been shy about promoting \u201ctraditional values\u201d as part of its foreign policy. At an October 11 summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Russia, the group adopted<\/a> a statement \u201cin support of the institution of family and traditional family values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, at the summit, said<\/a> he supported the initiative. \u201cWe support Russia\u2019s proposal to support the institution of the family and traditional family values, understanding well that the institution of the family is the foundation of society, as well as a unifying force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, backers of the bill make a mistake when they ascribe all opposition to Russia, said Alexander Iskandaryan, a Yerevan-based analyst. \u201cThey focus on the dichotomy of Russian-vs.-Western influence in Armenia, totally ignoring the domestic roots of Armenian traditionalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cArmenian society has its own traditionalists and Euro-skeptics that exist regardless of Russian influence,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is certainly true that people and organizations active in Armenia who are funded from Russia support the traditionalist discourse in general, and with regard to this law in particular. However, the Russia-supported groups do not form the center or the source of these trends simply because they are two few and too marginal to change public opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Iskandaryan said, he expects the bill to pass: \u201cIt\u2019s part of Armenia\u2019s project of coming closer to Europe<\/a> \u2013 a project that the ruling party of Armenia is implementing in the framework of the Eastern Partnership program, with some setbacks but steadily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nJoshua Kucera is the Turkey\/Caucasus editor at EurasiaNet.org, and author of The Bug Pit. He is based in Istanbul. With reporting by Oksana Musaelyan.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally posted by EurasiaNet.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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