From 1 to 10 November, 2019, the “Media Advocate” Initiative followed online media reports on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s personality and activities. 5 news agencies were monitored: armlur.am, aravot.am, armtimes.com, azatutyun.am and 1in.am.
According to the monitoring, 396 articles were published on 5 selected websites regarding Nikol Pashinyan. 39 articles of which are negative, 31 are positive and 326 are neutral.
The positive and negative articles declared during our monitoring period are almost equal. Nikol Pashinyan continues to be criticized for putting pressure on the judiciary. Aleksander Azaryan, Judge of the RA Criminal Court of Appeals, finds that the less pressure is put, the more independent the courts will be; “Do you think Nikol Pashinyan should organize a protest with 100,000 participant and start threatening? He has already threatened twice, isn’t it enough? Judges are smart people, they have been threatened twice, excuse for the word, but it is clear even to the most “stupid” judge, what the Prime Minister expects for example from Kocharyan’s case and what he wants from the courts.”
Nikol Pashinyan was also criticized for funding the shooting of “Mel” film. The former producer of one of the TV companies said that he is ready to shoot 20 films on different Armenian champions for 20,000,000 AMD. Nikol Pashinyan’s remark that they only financed the part of the movie referring to the sport achievements of the weightlifter, was also criticized. According to the public, it is not reasonable, you cannot tell which exact part you are financing.
During a meeting with students holding a sit-in strike, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the education policy is not conducted by Arayik Harutyunyan, but the government. In response to this statement, Artsvik Minasyan noted: “If Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister, supports the same views, defends the violation process of national values, then we address the same assessments related to him.”
Among the positive articles one may find the statement that Nikol Pashinyan condemned the Turkish side’s aggressive behavior in Syria, which emphasizes our role in terms of the Middle East issue.
Referring to the meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, former Artsakh Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan noted: “Members of the fraction were satisfied with the meeting with the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the position of the RA authorities on the Karabakh conflict settlement is acceptable to them.” Arayik Harutyunyan also noted that those who are suspicious about Nikol Pashinyan’s actions are conspirators.
It is said that the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has adopted a reform program aimed at strengthening Armenia’s institutions and the rule of law, improving the business environment and eradicating corruption.
“After the revolution of 2018, there is a hope that the new government will confidently choose the path of structural reforms, with an emphasis on eradicating corruption,” economist Lisa Yermolenko told Reuters, adding that the Government programs inspire hope.
From 112 articles published in 1in.am, 5 were negative, 17 were positive and 90 were neutral.
In its analysis, the news outlet writes that while Serzh Sargsyan is free, the public has a right to doubt the revolution itself, and that Nikol Pashinyan and Serzh Sargsyan have shadowy arrangements.
Arman Babajanyan notes that Nikol Pashinyan constantly speaks of increasing the effectiveness of cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), but does nothing for it.
The news outlet positively assessed Nikol Pashinyan’s tough assessment of Turkey’s policy, as well as the remark of former Artsakh Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan addressed to Nikol Pashinyan.
It is noted that there is a consensus among the public about rejecting Robert Kocharyan. Nikol Pashinyan is also supported in terms of Vitaly Balasanyan-Nikol Pashinyan conflict.
According to the monitoring results, 1in.am has become pro-government in the past month, while previously it had mainly an oppositional stance.
From 99 articles published in aravot.am, 24 were negative, 10 were positive and 65 were neutral.
Aleksander Azaryan’s assessment of the systematic pressure on the courts has been published by the news agency. The news outlet referred to the film “Mel” as well. The education sector and Artsvik Minasyan’s opinion on it have also been criticized.
In his interview with the news outlet, Armen Ashotyan, referring to the offenders and those who brought the coffins to their home, noted: “Unfortunately, many taboos have been broken today. When they were coming to our house with black ribbons, coffins, etc., and were screaming f***, when my children and wife were at home… this is something else… I have already noted once that I can forgive Nikol Pashinyan in political terms, but in personal terms, never… And this is bad for him, it is bad for me, bad for Armenia, because there is a great danger that the next government, I do not mean us, but the next will not succeed, some other government will not be able to ignore the bacchanalia which is happening in Armenia. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tootհ” principle will cause enormous destruction in the country․”
The publications on the remark of the former Prime Minister of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan addressed to Nikol Pashinyan were positively assessed.
Aleksandr Krilov, in his turn, mentioned that Nikol Pashinyan’s government had taken real and decisive steps to strengthen relations with Russia.
From 77 articles published in armtimes.com, 1 was negative, 6 were positive and 70 were neutral.
According to media reports, Vazgen Manukyan twice called Nikol Pashinyan in June, but Nikol Pashinyan had not called him back. According to Vazgen Manukyan, it was unprecedented.
The opinions of Aleksandr Krylov and economist Lisa Yermolenko were published by the news outlet. According to Freedom House report, in 2018-2019, the Internet state in Armenia has been rated as free, this news has also been published by the media outlet.
From 68 articles published in armlur.am, 0 was negative, 5 were positive and 63 were neutral.
The lack of critical articles on the news outlet is quite interesting; in the last ten-day period, there have been a lot of critical publications.
The news agency has published Arayik Harutyunyan’s opinion. One may also see the results of a recent poll, according to which Nikol Pashinyan’s rating has increased.
The news outlet writes: “The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party’s (ADL) Central Department’s Chair emphasized the importance of the meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister, which is a good opportunity to continue exchanging ideas on joint efforts to strengthen the homeland. According to Michael Kharapyan, ADL Party supports Prime Minister Pashinyan, the Government of Armenia and it reaffirms its support for large-scale reforms and programs aimed at Armenia’s development.”
From 40 articles published in azatutyun.am, 1 was negative, 1 were positive and 38 were neutral.
The news agency touched upon Artvik Minasyan’s critical remarks addressed to Arayik Harutyunyan and Nikol Pashinyan.
The news outlet also published critical articles referring to Robert Kocharyan’s article, which were supporting Nikol Pashinyan.
