ArmInfo. I was happy to observe the positive progress of the electoral processes in Armenia in 2018 and the involvement of civil society in the formation of this institution. Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Viktorin announced at the closing of the Pursuing Positive Change through Empowering Civil Society Project on November 29.
According to the EU Ambassador, independent media and civil society are a counterbalance to the authorities and represent additional value in the formation of an inclusive society.
<I am from a country where I had to constantly convince the government that civil society is an adding value and, indeed, it is important to listen to their voices. After all, it's much easier to oppose the authorities, to say that it is undemocratic, not to respect the rule of law, to blame corruption, but at the same time, it's much more difficult to work with the government, which is moving in the right direction, since in this case it's not just necessary to criticize, but propose solutions>, said Victorin, recalling that today a lot of work is underway in reforming the judicial system in Armenia.
The head of the EU delegation in Armenia believes that the establishment of a power-media-civil society dialogue will help identify problems that could be missed by competent structures and become mutually beneficial for all parties. <It is not always easy to convey the importance of these institutions to the authorities, but in Armenia positive dynamics in establishing the necessary connections. Civil society always strives for operational results, but we need to evaluate everything objectively and design development strategies carefully and thoughtfully>, she said, emphasizing the EU's desire to build an inclusive society. In turn, Executive Director of Open Society Foundations Armenia Larisa Minasyan stated that there are "groups of people" in Armenia who are trying to sow seeds of distrust in the success of the revolution, noting that the mission of the Fuondation is to strengthen the role of civil society.
<Under the previous authorities, our activity was focused on monitoring, this work took a lot of time, but the matter was complicated by the fact that there was no uniform and effective approach with the authorities in various areas, which became the reason for manipulation. This knowledge and base could not become a fulcrum for continuous work, as this represented a great danger. But the situation has now obviously changed, the degree of trust in relations between society and the government has grown significantly>, Minasyan said. In this regard, the Director of the Foundation noted the important role of the media in ensuring pluralism of opinions, and not the dissemination of false information. Chairperson of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO Daniel Ioannisyan, in turn, stated that the events of last year changed the essence of the work of civil society, emphasizing that civil society was one of the most established institutions in Armenia both before and after the revolution. At the same time, Ioannisyan admitted that today it is difficult to criticize the authorities, due to the high level of public trust. <After the revolution, the authorities agreed that there were problems and turned to civil society to find a solution to the problems, however, there is little criticism today, it is also necessary to propose solutions, "he concluded.