KARABAKH MADE MUCH MORE PROGRESS IN TERMS OF ITS CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAN KOSOVO

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2007 13:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Three members of the Independent American Monitoring
Delegation spoke on Capital Hill September 19 on democracy building
in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh. Vladimir Matic, Paul
Williams and Meghan Stewart, all affiliated with the Washington-based
Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), reiterated the main
conclusion of their election monitoring report in which they assessed
this summer’s vote as "free and fair," the NKR representative office
in the U.S. told PanARMENIAN.Net.

In his opening remarks, Vardan Barseghian, the NKR Representative to
the United States, thanked congressional friends for their outstanding
leadership on issues impacting the people of Artsakh.

Speaking about Artsakh’s democratic development, Rep. Barseghian said:
"Just eighteen days after its referendum on independence in 1991,
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic held its first democratic parliamentary
elections. These elections marked the beginning of a difficult,
complex but fruitful process of democratic state building amidst
significant internal and external challenges."

Ambassador Vladimir Matic, a retired diplomat now teaching
international relations at Clemson University, headed the group’s
mission to Artsakh. He said that Karabakh’s conduct of the summer
2007 election is one of the "best examples" of democratic practices
that they have ever observed having monitored elections in a dozen
of other post-conflict areas. He also noted progress compared to past
elections in Artsakh.

Paul Williams, a former State Department lawyer and currently
a professor at the American University specializing in conflict
resolution and post-conflict legal development, argued that "Karabakh
has made much more progress in terms of its constitutional development"
than Kosovo and urged the international community to take note of
this progress.

Meghan Stewart discussed the details of their monitoring mission
which included visiting nearly 50 polling sites in all of Karabakh’s
electoral districts and meeting with presidential candidates and
civil society representatives.

The congressional briefing was spearheaded by the Co-Chairs of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), who wanted to provide an opportunity for
Members of the U.S. Congress and their staff to hear about developments
in Nagorno Karabakh.

"The United States Congress has championed economic aid to Nagorno
Karabakh to assist with post-conflict rehabilitation of the region. We
know that the U.S. assistance has helped alleviate the needs, but
much more needs to be done," said Rep. Joe Knollenberg.

"Today, we were very pleased to hear from the American election
observers that Nagorno Karabakh has also steadily progressed in
democratic development. The United States should support Karabakh in
this effort," echoed Rep. Frank Pallone.

NKR Rep. Barseghian thanked the two Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus
for their staunch support of Artsakh.

He also thanked the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) and the U.S.-Armenia Public
Affairs Committee (USAPAC).

"We look forward to continue working with our American friends towards
ensuring a more stable, secure and prosperous Caucasus, which also
serves the U.S. strategic interests. An independent, democratic,
prosperous and formally recognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic must be
part of that picture," stressed Barseghian.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress