BUSH HOPES FOR FREE ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan and Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 17 2007

U.S. President George W. Bush has congratulated Serzh Sarkisian on
his appointment as Armenia’s new prime minister and urged him to help
ensure the proper conduct of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"We look forward to the parliamentary elections on May 12 and hope
that you will help ensure that these elections are free and fair,
meet international standards, and bolster the relations between our
two countries," Bush said in a congratulatory message made public by
Sarkisian’s office on Tuesday.

The Bush administration strongly criticized Yerevan for serious
fraud reported by international observers during the last Armenian
parliamentary and presidential elections. Sarkisian, who was the
country’s defense minister before replacing the deceased Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian on April 4, played a key role in the conduct of
those polls.

U.S. officials have said that the upcoming vote is a good opportunity
for the Armenian authorities to redeem themselves. They have warned
that a repeat of serious fraud would jeopardize the release of $235
million in additional U.S. economic assistance to Armenia. Still,
the U.S. administration is unlikely to ostracize Yerevan in the
event of another deeply flawed ballot now that it is hoping to
broker a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before the end
of this year.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried implied last week
that Washington does not expect the Armenian elections to be fully
democratic. "We don’t expect perfection," he told journalists. "We
don’t expect to go from deeply flawed to perfect, but we do expect
to see substantial forward progress."

Fried noted at the same time that Armenia should have been "way ahead
of Georgia" in terms of democratic reforms given the strength of its
worldwide Diaspora and its links with Europe and the United States.

"Armenia should be doing better," he said. "It should be a leader. It
should be a prospering country. It has all the ingredients."

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian repeated his government’s
election-related assurances on Tuesday as he spoke at a meeting
in Vienna of the main decision-making body of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe "This is a huge test for Armenia’s
democracy and I firmly believe that we together – the government,
the opposition, the public and the OSCE – we together can indeed hold
a normal election that will greatly contribute to Armenia’s further
democratization processes," he said.

Sarkisian, in the meantime, toured the Aragatsotn and Armavir regions
in southwestern Armenia, meeting local residents and listening to their
grievance. Even though he claimed that the trip has no connection
with the elections, it was clearly aimed at shoring up popular
support for his Republican Party (HHK), which intends to again win
the largest number of parliament seats. Sarkisian was accompanied by
Khachik Manukian, the HHK’s candidate in a single-mandate constituency
covering the mostly rural area.

Voters in the regional town of Talin were clearly reluctant to heed
Sarkisian’s implicit calls for Manukian’s reelection to the National
Assembly. "He hasn’t met with people here since the last election,"
said one man. "How can we vote for him?"

"Are you sure another candidate would do a much better job?" countered
Sarkisian.

The meetings in Talin and other local communities began with moments
of silence observed in memory of the late Prime Minister Markarian.

Local residents complained to Sarkisian about widespread unemployment,
serious problems with supplies of drinking water and irrigation,
and the poor condition of community schools and hospitals.

The Armenian premier assured them that those problems will be solved
over time but cautioned against expectations of rapid betterment. "If
somebody promises you to solve all problems in one or two years,
then rest assured that that person is a liar," he said, adding that
at least four more years are needed for a "qualitative change" in
the socioeconomic situation in regions outside Yerevan.

Sarkisian also defended the Armenian government’s economic track
record, arguing that the country’s Gross Domestic Product and state
budget have doubled in the last seven years.