ARMENIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN ACCUSES EUROPE OF DOUBLE STANDARDS
Arminfo
26 Apr 07
Yerevan, 26 April: "In connection with the Karabakh issue, the European
states are apparently interested in having an Armenian regime not
elected by the people in order to dictate their will. This is exactly
why they are turning a blind eye to the anti-democratic nature of the
incumbent regime in our country," Grigor Harutyunyan, the secretary
of the People’s Party of Armenia and a member of the National Assembly
[parliament], has told Arminfo.
Underscoring that it was his personal opinion, Harutyunyan asked
how democratic states can have relations with the illegitimate
leadership of Armenia. "For example, the USA has not invited Robert
Kocharyan a single time after the 2003 elections, and I am sure that
it is directly connected with the fraud that occurred [during the
elections]," Harutyunyan said.
He said that inconsistency is apparent in the European organizations’
activities when evaluating the fulfilment of Armenia’s commitments
to the Council of Europe.
"When human rights are violated in other countries, tough measures,
including sanctions, are imposed. In the case of Armenia, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed several
resolutions containing demands to allow the independent A1+ TV company
to broadcast, but all the international organizations are turning a
blind eye to the Armenian authorities’ failure to comply with these
demands. Therefore, I have to believe that the European organizations
apply double standards with the aim of pursuing their interests in
the region," he said.