WILL THE OSCE OBSERVERS BE INVITED?
Anna Israelian

Aravot, Armenia
Oct 25 2006

Though the authorities give positive answer to this question but the
anxieties after referendum are unsettled.

The U.S. Ambassador to OSCE Julie Finley for not meeting with
R. Kocharian during her visit to Armenia last week joked: "Perhaps
he didn’t meet with me as he thought I had no admiration and was a
bad company". Then she added more seriously: "Perhaps he doesn’t meet
with me supposing I must teach him what and how to do."

Julie Finley said during the same interview with the journalists that
one of the Armenian officials noted during non-official conversation
with her "maybe the authorities won’t invite OSCE observers". And J.

Finley called the journalists: "You must make pressure on you
government to send the invitation just after determining the day
of elections."

Mrs. Finley expressed the same anxiety during her conversations with
the Armenian officials. In particularly, she considered necessary
90-day presence of the OSCE monitoring mission, insisting that the
presence of observers before the elections is as important as it is
during the elections.

Vladimir Pryakhin, the head of OSCE Yerevan office has noted during
his meeting with the NA chairman that the OSCE is ready to send
a monitoring mission in case of receiving the invitation from the
Armenian authorities in time. He has also asked Tigran Torosian to
send invitations till the end of the year for the monitoring mission
of international organizations for the coming parliamentary elections.

V. Pryakhin said to "Aravot" yesterday: "I’m sure, there will be
invitations. Only a technical question worries us. It is better to
send the invitation beforehand, as there is no time. As sooner we
get those invitations as it is better."

NA chairman Tigran Torosian said to "Aravot"; "There is matter
to worry. But as the day of elections isn’t decided yet, it is
meaningless to send invitations". Vahan Hovhannisian, the NA vice
chairman, the head of Armenian delegation in the OSCE PA noted during
the interview with us: "My personal opinion is that we must provide
free, open doors for every observer. I don’t see any problem here."

It seems the problem is expired. But the anxieties aren’t relieved
when we remember the debates before constitutional referendum last
year. Elsy Hastings, the chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
told "Azatutiun" b/s two weeks before the referendum that they had
discussed with the Armenian officials of high rank the question of
inviting OSCE monitoring group to follow duration of constitutional
referendum. V. Hovhanisian replied to that incident /not inviting the
observers/ in the following way: "Referendum is another thing. OSCE had
no experience to monitor referendums. They have never sent observers
for referendum. Why must Armenia become the first?

Elections are another question." V. Pryakhin said on this occasion:
"That’s right, the OSCE was ready to send observers to monitor the
referendum. But the Armenian party didn’t consider it important. They
had right as it is said in the Copenhagen document that the parties
are obliged to invite observers for parliamentary and presidential
elections. Referendums aren’t mentioned there."

We also tried to find out which state body will invite the monitoring
group. Tigran Torosian answered; "Our country has sent invitations
for several elections, there was no problem. I think we’ll invite
by the same mechanism this year." CEC press secretary Tsovinar
Khachatrian informed us that they don’t send invitations: "The RA
government, National Assembly and Foreign Ministry have the right to
send invitations".