“In my opinion, the most important freedom is the right of conscious
choice,” says Gayane Markossian, President of the Free Forum for Civil
Initiatives NGO




To what extent are human rights protected in Armenia?

I would like to reserve for me the role of judge and to make estimations neither
according to the system of academic progress - excellent, good, satisfactory,
unsatisfactory, nor according to the rating system, which has recently become a
usual phenomenon for us. It is not a secret that more demonstrative than
meaningful import of democracy into Armenia turned international organizations’
periodical reports on human rights protection in Eastern Europe, former soviet
countries, Southern Caucasian and other countries into a specific “instruction
of the central committee”. In that way authorities try to prove to the society
their “devotion” to the process of democracy and are infinitely inspired by the
slightly high place taken among the countries of CIS and the more so in
comparison with Azerbaijan. And their opponents, sometimes with the enthusiasm
of child, indicate registered the last report even the least regress of Armenia
in comparison with the previous report or in comparison with the neighboring
countries. In that case both authorities and their opponents as if forget the
years of their study and the circumstance that grades and estimations are
relative, they can’t be objective, and hence, they are means for encouraging,
punishing or instigating to something, in short – the so called policy of whip
and pancake. And being repeatedly persuaded in it those two actors of the
political arena of Armenia continue to repeat the same mistakes first of all
endangering consolidation of law, and especially its inseparable part -human
rights, in Armenia. Human rights manifestation in the state, even in the way in
which they are formulated in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”,
demands first of all supremacy of law and equality of all citizens before law,
and all the remaining rights, being no less important, should derive from that
fundamental principle. Intentionally drawing the focus of attention to the
protection of sexual or other minorities’ rights serious obstacles are created
for the formation of legal awareness and proceedings in our society, the notion
of human rights is depreciated and thus a double service is bestowed upon the
realization of democracy in our country.



One of the human rights is the freedom of “mind, conscience and religion”. In
your opinion has the Armenian Apostolic Church any role in realization of that
right?




I think, it certainly has, and however, it should play its role by means of
adopting slightly different work-style in keeping tune with the modern world. In
my opinion the most important freedom is the right of conscientious choice. That
is, no religion has absolute right over the human being’s mind and conscience,
also in ideological sense (and religion is first of all ideology). Armenian
Apostolic Church shouldn’t base only on its undeniable mission and role in the
history of the Armenian nation. It should be ideologically and morally
competitive. It is the guarantee of its spiritual competitiveness. Armenian
clergy shouldn’t be inspired with the multitude of people or the quantity of
candles burnt in the church on the feast days as it isn’t a sufficient indicator
of true Christian. Clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church shouldn’t pursue only
repulsive policy which often makes just the opposite influence. They should be
zealous in preaching in order to sow belief and conviction and not implicit
faith, maybe they should make use of modern technologies instead of blaming
their ideological proselytizing rivals for using those technologies. They must
provide sufficient knowledge on the Armenian Apostolic Church and religion to
the Armenian person appearing in the spiritual chaos of the modern rapidly
changing world in order to conscientiously realize his/her freedom of “mind,
conscience and religion”. The role of the Armenian Church in the history of the
Armenian nation on the one hand grants that right to the clergy devoted to their
mission and vocation and on the other hand obliges them to be consistent.



In your activity directed to the defense of human rights do you refer to
Christian values?




We already spoke about the attempts of human rights’ discredit which take place
in the present-day multi-nature preaching realized in our country. One of
arguments of anti-preaching (directed against human rights’ manifestation) is
that freedom is alien to the Armenian Christian’s moral-spiritual image. And
that is done intentionally pursuing the goal of consolidating in the society the
so-called “common” being’s subordinated status and psychology of servility. It
is typical that former soviet officials had started struggle against the church
and religion in order to sow that same obedience by means of qualifying religion
as “addict for people”. And on the contrary, the human being believing in
Christian equality and fraternity is more ready not to lose his/her God-granted
freedom and dignity, to defend his/her human and civil rights. I am sure that
the shortage of legal knowledge in our society should be filled up by means of
using the entire potential of our society. That potential will be powerful if we
manage to harmonize all ideas and desires hearty to the viable segments of the
society and, shaping the general demand of the society, rally round for the
realization of those ideas and desires.