Latest news with #VelvetRevolution
OC Media
22-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Pashinyan remains most trusted politician in Armenia — at only 13% approval
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Amidst the crisis between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, a new survey commissioned by the International Republican Institute (IRI) has found that Armenians are largely satisfied with the church. In addition, while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was the most trusted politician in Armenia, his popularity, as well as that of his Civil Contract party, has declined. The data was collected via telephone administered interviews with 1,505 Armenian residents and Nagorno-Karabakh refugees from 16–26 June. The results of the survey were published on Monday. According to the results, Pashinyan was the most trusted politician in Armenia, with 13% of respondents expressing confidence in him. He was followed by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, with 5%, and opposition leader and former President Robert Kocharyan with 4%. Notably, 61% of respondents said they did not trust any political figure. Support for Pashinyan and his Civil Contract party declined to 17%, down from 20% in both 2023 and 2024. In contrast, the rating of Kocharyan's Armenia Alliance faction doubled, rising from 2% to 4%. Amidst the crisis between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has escalated since late May, survey data showed that the church was the institution with the second-most level of approval in Armenia, with 58% of respondents expressing satisfaction with its work. Respondents were most satisfied with the Armenian Armed Forces, which received an approval of 72%. Meanwhile, only 38% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the Prime Minister's office, a continued decline from over 80% in the aftermath of the 2018 Velvet Revolution. Advertisement The courts were the only public institution where the public have consistently been dissatisfied since August 2018 — according to the latest data, 52% of respondents were dissatisfied, while only 31% were satisfied. Despite criticism and protests against the government's handling of social assistance, 55% of respondents said they were satisfied with the Armenian government's support programmes for displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, while 36% expressed dissatisfaction. In addition, the IRI survey noted that they 'found signs of increasing political disengagement among young Armenians, with 37% of youth (age 18 to 35) responding that they would not vote if national parliamentary elections were held next Sunday'. The report quoted Stephen Nix, Senior Director for Europe and Eurasia at IRI, as saying that the Armenian government 'should undertake serious efforts to involve Armenian youth in the political and electoral processes'. Russia is still seen as a political threat Despite the apparent favourable turn in Armenia–Russia relations, following a freefall that started after lack of support in light of the Azerbaijani attack towards Armenia in 2021 and 2022, Armenians still view Russia as a political threat, behind just Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Israel. When asked about the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, 47% of respondents supported such a move while 40% opposed it. Those against the signing of a peace deal mentioned security issues, risks of war, the cession of territories to Azerbaijan, a lack of trust, and that the terms of the agreement are dictated only by Azerbaijan as the main disadvantages to such an agreement. Separately, Armenia's prospective membership in the EU enjoys broad support, with 49% of respondents saying they would vote in favour and only 15% opposed. Among those who expressed support for Armenia's accession to the EU, the main perceived benefits were strengthening the country's security, stability, and economy, and developing the country. In contrast, opponents of EU membership cited several concerns, including the deterioration of traditional Armenian family values, problems related to preserving national identity, the emergence of security problems, a negative impact on the economy, and risks of 'angering' Russia. Indeed, national security and border issues were considered to be the main problem that Armenia currently faces, with 44% expressing such a standpoint. Unemployment was the next biggest issue, receiving 14%, while political instability — 12% — was the third largest problem.
Euronews
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Czech president signs law criminalising communist propaganda
The president of the Czech Republic has signed an amendment to the criminal code that criminalises the promotion of communist propaganda, putting it on a similar level to Nazi ideology. The revised legislation signed by Petr Pavel allows judges to hand down prison sentences of up to five years for anyone who "establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist, or other movements which demonstrably aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, national, religious or class-based hatred." The changes follow calls from some Czech institutions, including the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, to correct what they described as an imbalance in the legal system. But the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), which is led by MEP Kateřina Konečná, condemned the move as politically motivated. "This is yet another failed attempt to push KSČM outside the law and intimidate critics of the current regime," the party said in a statement. It's not clear yet how the new law could be applied to legitimate political parties like KSČM. The party currently holds no seats in parliament, but recent polls put its "Stačilo" (Enough) alliance at 5%, which would be enough to see it return to the lower house in October's elections. The Czech Republic was part of the former Czechoslovakia and in post-WWII Europe came under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. It was led by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) until the 1989 Velvet Revolution brought an end to 41 years of one-party rule and ushered in a transition to a parliamentary republic. At the last election in 2021, the KSČM failed to win more than 5% of the vote, meaning the Czech parliament had no Communist delegates for the first time since 1920.
Balkan Insight
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Balkan Insight
"Slovakia needs to be built from scratch"
Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová and Michal Vašečka during a panel at the Freedom Games in Łódź in 2024. Photo: Aureliusz M. Pędziwol AURELIUSZ M. PĘDZIWOL: Did it surprise you that Slovakia reinstated Robert Fico, whom it had rejected twice before, to the government? MICHAL VAŠEČKA: It was predictable that after three years of chaos and incompetent management of the country during the pandemic by the then Prime Minister Igor Matovič, his party would not win the 2023 elections. What did surprise me, however, was that Robert Fico, declaring himself a social democrat, took the path of extremism and collaboration with neo-fascists after losing the 2020 elections, crossing with his Smer (Direction) party all the red lines that democratic politicians are not allowed to cross. It is perhaps not without significance that Fico was a member of the Communist Party until 1989. Fico and his political friends mobilized the people and radicalized them using disinformation, scaremongering and the stigmatization of the opposition. It has turned out that for many of them this has become their main competence, just what they do best. And it is people like this who are obstructing the functioning of the state today. The state is not working now. A lot of mistakes were also made by the coalition that governed before. This is true. Admittedly, the Matovič and Heger cabinets were in power from 2020 under the conditions of the pandemic and war in Ukraine, but above all they were the most chaotic Slovak governments since 1989. It was all this chaos and all the irrational decisions taken during those three years that won Fico so many supporters. So what is it like for Slovakia? It voted for Mečiar in the early 1990s, but was finally able to turn away from him in 1998. Four times it elected Fico, but twice it overthrew him. What do sociological studies say about this? They say precisely that this narrative can vary. Once it is the message of Mečiar or Fico, with all the attributes of that. Other times it is the civic and pro-western narrative of an elite that has managed to preserve democracy in spite of the fact that the greater part of Slovak public opinion is anti-American, anti-western, pro-Russian and authoritarian. And it was this second Slovakia that elected Zuzana Čaputová to the presidential office… And before that Andrej Kiska. There are a few thousand people in Slovakia who can be called elites, in the normative sense. These people have managed for 35 years not to allow the country to be completely hijacked and dragged somewhere far to the East. Membership of the European Union and NATO undoubtedly makes this difficult. The price when it comes to this is high. This state is not functioning well. In a sense, however, it has been hijacked and has broken with the policy set out during the Velvet Revolution and by Prime Minister Dzurinda from 1998 to 2006. He pushed through all the important reforms and brought the country into NATO and the Union. As a result, today the biggest challenge is no longer the dilemma of whether Slovakia will be a liberal democracy or merely a procedural one, but the threat that instead of functioning, even if with difficulties, it will only struggle to survive. Or it will function, but as an authoritarian state. This is not just a Slovakian challenge. Agreed. But when you look, for example, at a country's economy, at its infrastructure, Poland, for example, is developing all the time. Sometimes faster, other times slower, but nevertheless. And this is true regardless of whether Tusk or Kaczyński is in power. Slovakia, on the other hand, which used to be richer than Poland, is today going through a deep regression. So, we have two problems, political and economic, and Fico is neither prepared nor able to do anything about one or the other within the democratic system. And the third problem is the attitude towards Ukraine? Yes. Slovakia is more pro-Putin, pro-Russian and, above all, much more prone to conspiracy theories than other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Michal Vašečka in Bratislava in 2021. Photo: Aureliusz M. Pędziwol Even more so than Bulgaria. At least that is what the GLOBSEC TRENDS polls show. Russian propaganda was remarkably effective in Slovakia for many years. It has succeeded in confusing a large part of Slovak society. Followers of conspiracy theories are already a majority in Slovakia. Of course, there are populations like them in all countries, but the scale is different. So what should the Slovak opposition, in which a liberal party is the strongest, do? It is interesting, by the way, that a big part of the Slovak electorate votes for the populists while another, also not a small part, votes for the liberals. Progressive Slovakia, which is a liberal party, already has 24 per cent support according to some polls. This is really a lot, given that liberalism does not have much of a tradition in Slovakia. And the other liberal party, SaS, or Freedom and Solidarity? This one has about five per cent. In total, however, it is almost 30 per cent. What does this mean? That Progressive Slovakia is now waiting for the Fico government to make mistakes. Is that enough? It is enough to win the elections, but it may not be enough to be able to form a government. Progressive Slovakia wants to show that Fico does not know how to govern, which is true. He always governed after someone who consolidated the finances and the state. When he came in, the table was lavishly set. And he gave it all away. That was the case when he first came in 2006, after eight years of Dzurinda's rule, which was a time of a great economic boom. After four years, the right wing regained power, but only for two years. Did it manage to get Slovakia back on its feet again? No, but when Fico returned in 2012, the country was sufficiently consolidated again. And the first and second time he took power, the weather was sunny and pleasant. But now it is bad, very bad. And his budget is falling apart. Everything is falling apart for him, the whole country. Progressive Slovakia can therefore count on success. The problem, however, is whether the democratic parties have a chance of winning a majority in parliament. They have been getting around 40 per cent in the polls for a long time. Optimists say that Fico does not have a significant majority in parliament after all. The thing is, however, that the three parties that could have supported him did not get in. Had they got in, his government could theoretically even have a constitutional majority. Which parties are these? The far-right Republic had almost five per cent. The pro-Orban Hungarian coalition was also very close to five per cent. And finally, there is the populist Sme rodina (We Are Family), which got two and a half per cent. So, Fico has the potential to form a government after the next election too, against the possibility that a democratic party like Progressive Slovakia might win it. And could Mečiar and Fico be followed by another tribune who will again draw crowds? Such a risk exists. We don't know his name, we don't know what his party will be, but it will certainly be anti-European and authoritarian. Because Slovaks want a strong-arm government? Exactly. The result of the 2023 elections was no exception, and this was not the only reason that the Matovič government became a disaster for Slovakia. The point is that such a strong-handed policy is wanted by a large proportion of Slovaks. Maybe even a majority. Yes, Slovaks want a leader. And maybe even a saviour. And their attitude to Russia's war against Ukraine? Does it coincide with what Fico preaches? He has a problem, because before the elections he kept saying that he was against the war in Ukraine and at the same time also against the Ukrainian government. Fico is trying to play all sides and be a friend of everyone: Moscow, Brussels, Washington and Berlin. He also wants to continue speaking in front of his voters, most of whom are openly anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian. 'We want to be a bridge, because Slovakia is neither in the East nor in the West'? Exactly. It's just that such a strategy is good for a time of sunny weather, when nothing is happening and for us no values count except one: to survive as best we can. But now there is a war and whoever says he is friends with everyone is not really anyone's friend. Nobody considers him an honest partner. Slovakia today is a country that nobody talks to. This time, the policy towards all four corners of the world that Fico is trying to pursue is no longer working out for him. Probably because, in the end, he turned out to be a pro-Russian, pro-Putin politician. And pro-Trump. Slovakia lost two partners from the Visegrad Group, but gained one. An anti-EU and anti-NATO coalition was born in the EU and NATO: Orbán and Fico. What might this result in? There are differences, however. Orbán is playing this game openly. With the AfD in Germany, with Marine Le Pen in France, with Georgia Meloni in Italy. And he even built a think tank in Washington to influence the Republican Party. At the summer school in Romania, which he visits every year and always fires off something strong there, he said this time something to the effect that Europe is over and the future of the world is in Asia. That is why we Hungarians will cooperate with Asia, because that is where our ancestors came from. This is not Fico's position. Foreign policy has never interested him, he doesn't get into any games. He just wants to govern. And it has to be said that he is succeeding. Some people thought Brussels would be unhappy… I think it is? Maybe it is, but the effects are not visible. Fico is behaving in a way that is unacceptable from Brussels's position, but there are no consequences. The money from the European funds continues to flow. Barbora Krempaská, Łukasz Grzesiczak, Zora Jaurová, Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová and Michal Vašečka at the 2024 Freedom Games in Łódź. Photo: Aureliusz M. Pędziwol So Europe should figure out how to deal with people like Orbán and Fico? Yes, because it hasn't dealt with Orbán for a dozen years now. Or with Fico for a year. And soon they will be joined by Andrej Babiš. And soon there may be both Andrej Babiš in the Czech Republic and Herbert Kickl in Austria. I understand that no one is allowed to be relegated from the Union, these are the rules of this club. But if someone in this club does not abide by the accepted norms, it is absolutely necessary to apply sanctions against him. Because otherwise he will continue to do so. Orbán and Fico will continue to act the way they do. Does the Slovak opposition have any ideas to stop Fico, especially in the context of Ukraine? Do Slovak experts have any? Michal Vašečka, for example? Progressive Slovakia is waiting for Fico's mistakes to show that he does not know how to govern. In the meantime, it is necessary to act more radically. Go back to the beginnings. For 32 years after the creation of an independent Slovakia, we can see that it has not been a very successful project. Slovakia was created without the consent of its citizens, without a referendum, and Mečiar has created oligarchs who still rule the country, just as oligarchs rule Russia. Something has to be done about this, just waiting for mistakes is not enough. The way out I see is to build Slovakia from scratch, to build a new ethos of the state. In France they have the Fifth Republic, in Poland there is the Third Republic. The Slovaks would also have a third. Is anyone already working on such a project? There are some ideas from intellectuals, but not enough. Slovakia needs structural changes above all in the sphere of ideas and values, and the political and institutional changes that follow from them. The Second Slovak Republic was established without the consent of its citizens. Its foundations include manipulation, lies, disregard for the people, dishonesty, lack of trust. Civil society has already let us know three times what it thinks about this. Actually, four times, because in November 1989 people united under the banner of 'Societies against Violence', in 1998 they spoke out against Mečiar's manipulations, in 2018 they demonstrated 'for a decent Slovakia', and this year they are demanding respect for the agreements made with our allies that guarantee our pro-western orientation. In fact, it can be said that the people of this country themselves have already laid the ideological foundations for the Slovakia of the future. Now a political force has yet to be born that will be able to transform these ideas into a new state and institutions and give the country a chance to truly succeed. Michal Vašečka has worked for years on ethnic issues and the study of populism and extremism. He studied at Masaryk University in Brno and the New School University in New York. Since 2017, he has been the director of the Bratislava Policy Institute, and since 2012 he has represented Slovakia at the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He is chairman of the editorial board of Denník N , one of the leading daily newspapers in Slovakia. Aureliusz M. Pędziwol is a journalist with the Polish section of Deutsche Welle . New Eastern Europe is a reader supported publication. Please support us and help us reach our goal of $10,000! We are nearly there. Donate by clicking on the button below. democracy, democratic backslide, institutions, Oligarchy, Robert Fico, Slovakia
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Armenia's PM Pashinyan offers to expose himself in escalating Church row
A bitter standoff between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church has seen mass arrests, allegations of a coup plot, and an extraordinary offer by Armenia's leader to reveal his private parts to prove he is a this week, Pashinyan told his 1.1 million followers on Facebook he was prepared to expose himself to the head of the Armenian Church and his spokesman, to prove they were wrong that he had been media became his preferred means of communication after he came to office after Armenia's so-called Velvet Revolution of faces pivotal elections next year and the Church has become a prominent anti-government voice since Armenia was defeated in a 2020 war with neighbouring Azerbaijan. His extraordinary offer last Monday followed a Facebook post by a priest in the southwestern town of Masis who alleged Pashinyan had been circumcised, comparing him to Judas and implying that he was not Christian."I believe that our Apostolic Holy Church must immediately cleanse itself," said Father Zareh Ashuryan, "of those false 'believers' who have betrayed the nation, dishonoured the memory of their ancestors, violated the baptism, and replaced the seal of the Holy Cross with the sign of circumcision."The confrontation between Church and state began at the end of May when the prime minister accused the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, of breaking his vow of celibacy and fathering a child, demanding the church leader's Church released a statement accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia's "spiritual unity" but did not address the claim about the media subsequently circulated photos and names of Karekin II's alleged daughter, while Pashinyan established a "co-ordination group" to organise the election of a new Church leader - despite constitutional provisions guaranteeing separation of Church and state. When Karekin II returned from a trip to the UAE last week, hundreds of supporters gathered at Yerevan airport chanting Vehapar (Pontiff).He called for unity and restraint, saying they would "overcome this difficulty" crisis then escalated on Wednesday, when security services detained 16 people, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a senior cleric who leads the opposition Sacred Struggle movement. They face allegations of plotting terrorist acts to seize the others detained are an opposition member, a former MP, a businessman and a Investigative Committee alleges the group planned to establish 250 "assault" groups" of 25 members each to carry out attacks and cause mass disturbances, and that "a large quantity of items and objects intended for criminal activity" were found during the archbishop led major anti-government protests last year and a court has now ruled that he should spend two months in pre-trial detention. He faces charges of planning terrorism and attempting to overthrow the lawyers have dismissed the allegations as "political persecution".The arrests followed the publication of what government-affiliated media claimed was a detailed opposition coup plan, allegedly involving the Church, recently detained Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, and two former presidents - Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Pashinyan shared a montage of the photos of the four men and said that the event would remain history as a "failed revolution of crooks". Samvel Karapetyan, who holds dual Russian and Armenian citizenship, is one of the richest men in Armenia, with an estimated wealth of $4bn (£2.9bn).He owns the Tashir Group, known across Russia for its pizza brand. It is a conglomerate that operates real estate as well as the Electric Networks of Armenia – a major energy distributor in the one of the most prominent benefactors of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the recipient of high Church awards, was arrested after he made a public video pledging his support for the Church."I have always stood with the Armenian Church and the Armenian people. If the politicians do not succeed, we will intervene in our own way in this campaign against the Church," he after the statement, law enforcement officers conducted searches in Karapetyan's mansion, he was arrested and later charged with publicly calling for the seizure of has denied all the charges against spokesman suggested that the billionaire had decided to use a "classic manual received from the north" – a clear reference to prime minister later announced his intention to nationalise Karapetyan's Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) and he told a cabinet meeting on Thursday the government would start taking control of it."We must do this swiftly and effectively," Pashinyan Karapetyan's arrest giant billboards with his photos appeared in Moscow – and Russia's Armenian diaspora expressed support for the foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow was "closely monitoring" the situation around "Russian national Samvel Karapetyan" promising to provide him necessary assistance to ensure that his legal rights were respected.
Globe and Mail
30-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Here's a radical idea to avoid speed camera tickets - forget vandalism and just don't speed
Throughout the annals of human struggle, there have been iconic acts of heroic protest. Acts such as Gandhi's Salt March in 1930, the Civil Right's Movement's Montgomery Bus Boycott of the 1950s and Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution in 1989. Will the 'Parkside Speed Camera Decapitations of 2025' one day be recorded alongside such illustrious acts? What's that you say? You've never heard of the 'Parkside Speed Camera Decapitations?' Think of them (there's no way a single individual is responsible) as 'Robin Hoods' but instead of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, these champions cut down the defenseless Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras under the cover of darkness. Their sacred quest? To preserve their right to speed and jeopardize people's safety. The Parkside Vandaliers, as I'll call them, get their name from the picturesque Toronto street that runs along the east side of High Park, struck their latest blow sometime during the night of May 22. While the good people of the west end slumbered, they toppled over the Parkside Drive speed camera. It was the fifth time in six months that the Vandaliers had struck. Credit where credit is due. What they lack in integrity they make up for in consistency. The Vandaliers have sawed the speed camera down, hacked it down and dragged it 200 metres to deposit in a duck pond. The attacks on vulnerable speed cameras have Torontonians in shock, dumbfounded by yet another example of man's inhumanity to soulless metal objects that can't feel anything. 'It's just Groundhog Day,' Faraz Gholizadeh, co-chair of the community group Safe Parkside, told The Toronto Star, alluding to the 1992 comedy starring Bill Murray as curmudgeonly weatherman Phil Connors who must repeat February 2 over and over until he experiences spiritual growth. Spiritual growth seems unlikely for the Parkside Vandaliers, a group of people who get their jollies lurking around at night lopping the heads off speed cameras. The Parkside Camera massacres are not isolated incidents. These are just a few of many acts of man-on-speed-camera vandalism in Toronto. There are 150 speed cameras in the city. Municipal officials say there have been 325 acts of speed camera vandalism so far in 2025. Though they have not issued a manifesto; it's a fair bet that the Vandaliers target the Parkside speed camera because it is emblematic of what they consider a 'cash grab.' It's Toronto's top-grossing ASE device, having issued 65,000 speeding tickets worth around $7-million since 2021. All 150 cameras bring in $40-million. Speed camera advocates note that Parkside Drive is one of Toronto's most dangerous streets. It's a 2.5-kilometre north/south arterial road that runs between a residential area and a park. According to a report by the city, about 21,000 motor vehicles and 1,000 transit passengers travel daily on Parkside Drive. 'Over the 10-year period between August 2014 and August 2024 there have been 1,487 collisions on Parkside Drive between Bloor Street West and Lake Shore Boulevard West. Of the collisions, five resulted in serious injuries and two resulted in fatalities.' The Parkside speed camera was erected in 2021 after a terrible five-car crash claimed the lives of two seniors. The driver responsible, Artur Kotula, had been told by an emergency doctor that he should not drive because he was suffering from seizures caused by alcohol use disorder. Kotula drove anyway, going more than 100 kilometres an hour in a 50 zone. In March, Kotula was found guilty of two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. You might think that the Parkside Vandaliers would be angry at folks like Kotula (who, along with his sentence, was given a 15-year driving suspension) but apparently not, because his head is still attached to his body. They're angry at speed cameras. Their ire is not exclusive to Toronto. In 2020, someone spray-painted the lens of Hamilton's first photo radar camera. In 2021, three speed cameras were vandalized in the Niagara region. Nor is it exclusively Canadian. In Italy, a person or a group calling itself 'Fleximan' spent 2024 cutting down photo radar devices. The BBC reported that Fleximan – a pun on the Italian word for angle grinder, 'flessibile' – had cut down 15 'autovelox' and left a note saying, 'Fleximan is coming.' When I imagine the Parkside Vandaliers at work, I picture them celebrating the decapitation of an automated speed enforcement device by exclaiming at the top of their lungs, 'Take that, lifeless speed camera machine that can feel nothing and will be replaced shortly!' And yet, while I admire the Parkside Vandaliers' out-of-the-box thinking – Don't like speed cameras? Decapitate them – I question their logic. Surely there are other ways to avoid getting speeding tickets that do not involve power tools and the nocturnal maiming of automated speed enforcement devices. You know, like not speeding. Maybe I'm just not radical enough.
