YEREVAN ADMITS UNEASE OVER OSCE ELECTION MISSION
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 27 2007

Armenia’s government questioned the impartiality of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe before formally asking it to
monitor the approaching parliamentary elections, it emerged on Friday.

The administration of President Robert Kocharian had taken issue with
the OSCE’s highly critical assessment of its handling of the last
presidential and parliamentary elections held in 2003. The findings of
the mainly Western observers acting under the OSCE aegis gave weight
to opposition allegations of massive vote rigging.

Kocharian exposed his government’s discontent with their activities
on Friday when he said official Yerevan has sought assurances that
the OSCE mission deployed for the May 12 parliamentary elections will
not be a "tool" in the hands of unspecified external powers.

"We always intended to invite observers," he said. "We just wanted
to negotiate and make sure the observer mission is free of various
political pressures and does not cater for various political
interests."

"This is our goal, and I think we have had held quite effective
negotiations and reached agreements with the OSCE leadership,"
added Kocharian.

Reports in the Armenian press late last year said official Yerevan is
trying to make sure that the OSCE mission is not headed by U.S. or
British officials and includes more representatives of France and
Russia, countries that have been less critical of the Kocharian
administration’s democracy record. The head of the mission, Boris
Frlec, comes from the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia.

Frlec told RFE/RL that he has discussed Yerevan’s concerns with
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. "Mr. Oskanian expressed the wish
of the Armenian side that the election observation mission should be,
as far the national composition is concerned, as broad as possible,"
he said.

"In the [mission’s] core team, including long-term observers, 24
different nations are represented among 40 people," argued Frlec. "In
addition to that, countries of the OSCE responded to the call of the
[OSCE’s] Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and sent
300 short-term observers that cover an extremely wide spectrum of
different nationalities."