NATO official urges further reforms in Armenia after polls

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
19 May 07

19 May: An exclusive interview of NATO Secretary General’s special
representative for Central Asia and the South Caucasus Robert Simmons
to Mediamax news agency

[Mediamax] In his 14 May statement, NATO Secretary General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer noted "with satisfaction that the [12 May] parliamentary
election in Armenia were considered by international monitors to be
largely in accordance with Armenia’s OSCE and Council of Europe
commitments". What is your personal assessment of the Armenian
election?

[Simmons] Democratic institution building is an essential part of
Armenia’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO and I am
therefore pleased that an important step in the right direction was
taken. But, like the Secretary General, I would like to stress that
there remains significant work to do. The international observers have
noted a number of shortcomings and these will need to be addressed
effectively.

[Mediamax] This election were the first after adoption and putting
into force of the Individual Partnership Action Plan. Can you say that
Armenia proved its adherence to the commitment of implementing further
democratic reforms, as stated in the IPAP?

[Simmons] The Individual Partnership Action Plan sets out ambitious
objectives in a number of areas, including democratic reforms. Even
before the election, in April 2007, we conducted an assessment of
Armenia’s progress in the implementation of the IPAP, which was
largely positive, though we also noted many areas where further work
is required.

In this context, it is a very positive signal that the parliamentary
election last weekend were an improvement over previous ones. It makes
me confident that further progress can be achieved in the many areas
we work on with our Armenian partners and we look forward to
continuing this work.

[Mediamax] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated NATO’s readiness to continue
to support Armenia’s reform efforts. Which reforms are of particular
importance today?

[Simmons] The IPAP is a comprehensive programme that covers many
areas, with a strong focus on the defence and security sectors.
Reforms in these areas are naturally long-term projects which will
require constant and systematic efforts.

We are now at a stage where the next steps will need to be taken
towards a Strategic Defence Review, including the formulation of a
Military Doctrine. Defence Planning and Budgeting are key issues, as
is the introduction of more civilians into the Ministry of Defence.

And, of course, the further improvement of interoperability to
increase the opportunities for Armenian forces to make contributions
to NATO-led peace support operations is a key priority. We also need
to continue to improve the way in which various government agencies
work together, in particular in such areas as crisis management and
the fight against terrorism.

With a newly elected Parliament we also need to focus on improving the
capabilities of the legislature to exercise strong and effective
oversight of the defence and security sectors. In short, there is
still much on our plate and defence reform, democratic institution
building and strengthening of the rule of law need to continue. We
will continue our support to Armenia on these and many other issues,
as set out in the IPAP.