Independence Movement Film Banned as Pashinyan Government Moves to Rewrite Constitution

A film about Armenia’s independence movement has been banned from airing on television, as the country debates changes to its Constitution that could remove references to the Declaration of Independence. The timing of the decision has raised concerns about whether historical narratives tied to Armenia’s path to statehood are being restricted during a sensitive political moment.

A court in Armenia has ruled that the film “Our Path to Independence,” created by Tigran Paskevichyan by order of the Public Television Company, cannot be shown in any format. The decision came after the court upheld a lawsuit filed by the Public Television Company to ban the use and distribution of the film.

The ruling places strict limits on the film’s circulation. According to the plaintiff’s demands, the court has prohibited “the distribution of the film, the rental of originals, modification of the original or copies, translation, adaptation, rearrangement, illustration, and other forms of transformation, as well as public communication, public performance, cable transmission, broadcasting, and rebroadcasting.”

The case centers on a dispute between the filmmaker and the state broadcaster over ownership and control. Paskevichyan has argued that the issue goes beyond legal rights and touches on the content of the film itself. “They believe that it should not be shown what happened from the 1988 movement until the declaration of independence,” he said in an interview with CivilNet.

The Public Television Company based its lawsuit on a screening that took place on May 2, 2025, at the office of the Armenian National Congress. The director acknowledged that the film had been shown multiple times. “In my response letter, I wrote that I not only screened it on May 2, but many times,” he said.

Before the legal action, Paskevichyan had formally requested permission to screen the film on other platforms, but said he did not receive any response. Despite the court ruling, he has indicated that additional screenings may still take place.

The dispute also reflects a long-standing pattern in the director’s career. This is not the first time one of his films has faced difficulties with public screenings. His earlier work, “Armenia’s Lost Spring,” which focuses on the events surrounding the violence of March 1, 2008, also encountered obstacles in being shown publicly. “At that time, it was not possible to rent serious halls,” Paskevichyan said. “Under everyone, something was banned, but to prevent it from being shown and reach the point where you yourself have no right to screen it is the highest level of meanness.”

Representatives of the Public Broadcaster have not yet fully detailed their position. The Chairman of the Public Broadcaster’s Council, Vasak Darbinyan, said that a clarification on the matter will be published. It was not possible to reach council member Ara Shirinyan for comment.

The controversy comes as Armenia is engaged in a broader national debate over its constitutional identity and historical narrative. The country’s Declaration of Independence, adopted on August 23, 1990, has become a central issue.

The declaration includes references to the unification of Soviet Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, language that is also reflected in the preamble of Armenia’s Constitution. Azerbaijan has argued that this provision contradicts its territorial integrity and has called for changes, linking the issue to ongoing peace negotiations.

In response, Armenian authorities have launched a constitutional reform process. A draft of a new Constitution, which officials say will be put to a referendum after the June 7 elections, no longer includes a reference to the Declaration of Independence. Authorities have not clearly stated whether these changes are connected to external demands.

The issue has also been addressed at the highest political level. During a recent government question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the meaning of the declaration.

“The Declaration of Independence is a declaration of conflict and dependence,” he said.

“If you base your Declaration of Independence on a logic of conflict with all your neighbors, you make one thing impossible: living in your environment without external assistance. And with whose help you are supposed to live in that environment, you become increasingly dependent on them, whoever they may be.”

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