The US department of state has published its annual report on freedom and democratization in 2008, which criticizes the state of democracy in Armenia. Specifically, the mentioned report covers the electoral procedures of the presidential election 2008 and the events of March 1. “On March 1 the government announced state of emergency and used power to disperse the huge group of demonstrators, limit independence of media and the right of conducting demonstrations, and arrested many demonstrators. As a result of scuffle between the demonstrators and the police 10 people died. The state of emergency was raised on March 20 but despite that fact the civic freedoms are still limited due to the strict law on rallies, intimidation on the opposition media and arrests and terror of opposition leaders,” reads the report.
By the way, Amnesty International law office has published its annual report as well, which writes that the freedoms of speech and demonstrations has been limited in Armenia in 2007. “We have received reliable information stating that the freedoms of organizing free rallies have been limited. The opposition parties have stressed that the administrative bureaucracy has committed violations to prevent the legally organized rallies. In May and in October the police used power to disperse the peaceful rallies of the opposition powers,” writes the report.