PACE CHAIRMAN URGES DIALOGUE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION AND CIVIL SOCIETY

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20. ARMINFO. PACE President urges dialogue between
government, opposition and civil society in Armenia Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Rene van der Linden today
completed a two-day visit to Armenia, as part of his visit to the
South-Caucasus from 18-23 August at – as he stressed – “a crucial
time for the country”. He held frank and constructive discussions
with all the relevant actors including representatives of civil
society. The main issues discussed were constitutional reforms. The
press office of Council of Europe informs.

The President urged dialogue between the government, opposition and
civil society. The constitutional reform was a test case for further
democratic development in Armenia and of its willingness to fulfil
its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, he said.

The success of the referendum would depend in particular on the
revision of voters’ lists, media independence and the organisation of
an effective public awareness raising campaign. The President
appealed to government and opposition parties to use the coming days
to reach an agreement on joint amendments, so as to attract the
broadest support for reform. He said that failure of the reform
process would have negative consequences for the country as a whole.

On the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh the President stated his intention
to enhance the possibility for parliamentary diplomacy available to
the countries’ PACE delegations as a complement to the primary means
of bilateral diplomacy and the Minsk Group process. He added that
democratic development in the two countries would create a better
climate for finding a solution. He urged all political actors to
enhance their efforts to ensure good relations with Armenia ‘s
neighbours.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress