Armenian Committee testifies on online hate in CanadaApril 13, 2019 - 11:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On Thursday, April 11, 2019, Shahen Mirakian, president of the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), testified at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding the committee's ongoing study on how to combat online hate in Canada. The committee initiated the study to hear the different perspectives and recommendations of various civil society organizations, on how to strategically combat online hate and to explore the possible amendments that could be made to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code. In his opening remarks to the committee, Mirakian said “As representatives of a community that has suffered genocide, the ultimate expression of hate based violence, we are more familiar than most with the consequences of the promotion of hate. Similarly as a community that has routinely advocated for positions that run counter to the status quo, we are fierce defenders of freedom of expression.” Mirakian also highlighted the important work that is being done by a coalition of by human rights advocacy organizations to mark April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month while asking the Government of Canada to adopt a national strategy for tracking, preventing and prosecuting hate motivated cyber-vandalism and hacking of community organization websites and social media accounts. “The study undertaken by this committee is a very important first step in combatting online hate. We are thankful to this committee for making room on its agenda during Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention month to bring attention to this issue and do its part in preventing future genocides. We are hopeful that this study results in an effective national strategy to deal with the pressing problem of online hate promotion.” concluded Mirakian. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. |