Parties failed to assume responsibility

04-07-2007 14:54:36 – KarabakhOpen

Masis Mayilyan, NKR presidential candidate, held an interview with the
reporter of the Web site of the Mitq Analytical Center. Below is part
of this interview on the urgent internal problems of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mr. Mayilyan, various evaluations of the pre-election situation in NKR
are heard in Armenia. What is your opinion on the current political
situation in Artsakh? Do the Armenian political forces somehow
influence the reforms underway in the republic?

It is already obvious that the election of a new president of
Nagorno-Karabakh caused controversial reactions among the society and
the political forces. It became clear that many are not ready to solve
this crucial political problem. First of all, it was displayed in the
behavior of the parliament forces which did not name their candidates.
Apparently, the parties could not assume responsibility and decided to
act to the political plans of the executive.

The government, which is going to leave, whose constitutional function
should be providing equal opportunities for a free election, is not
ready for this situation either. In fact, the government made efforts
to mobilize the administrative resource to support one of the
candidates, who is referred to as the `common candidate’. The
atmosphere of free expression of the will of citizens underwent
unjustified information pressure. The idea of predetermined outcome of
the election is instilled in the public consciousness. I think the NKR
society does not deserve such a treatment.

There are a number of NGOs and political parties in Artsakh. How do you
assess the political activity of the NKR society and parties? Does it
affect state building and development adequately?

The political parties are underdeveloped, which is one of the factors
which slow down the political life in the country. The parties must
become independent organizations and avoid the dictate of the executive
power. We haven’t arrived at this point yet. It is not accidental that
the NGOs and the media are now performing part of the political
functions in the country. At present, these organizations have
independence and political maturity. I do not think this is the how the
things should be. It is just an effort of the society to fill in the
political vacuum. I hope the upcoming election will stimulate the
transformation of the political forces and establishment of practical
political organizations.

The world media refer to NKR as the locomotive of democracy in the
region. What will the role of Karabakh be in the South Caucasus in your
opinion?

We need not be touched by such evaluations of others. We must be such
and not be referred to as such. Today we cannot be satisfied with the
level of democracy in the country.