WHAT’S THE BASIS OF THE POLITICAL DIALOGUE?
Armen Tsatouryan
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
March 20, 2008
The PACE Monitoring Committee advances a proposal
The peak of the post-electoral political struggle is behind, and to
think that after lifting the state of emergency it will be possible
to bring the people to the streets and squares again is at least
senselessness.
Naturally, there are currently many people concerned about the
following question: how and on what basis is it possible to start
the process of building bridges between the parties to the conflict?
It’s not accidental that on March 19 the Monitoring Committee of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe appealed to the
representatives of the Armenian authorities and the opposition, the
two conflicting parties, to initiate a dialogue based on the three
groups of proposals advanced by John Prescott, their representative.
The first refers to the authority of the Constitutional Court and
its decision on the results of the elections, i.e. the necessity of
recognizing the legitimacy of the President.
The second group of proposals covers the questions regarding the state
of emergency, declared as a result of the March 1-2 events. This group
of proposals also includes the issue of the arrests and is aimed at
mitigating their negative consequences to the greatest possible extent.
As to the third group, it covers issues regarding the future relations
between the Armenian authorities and the opposition, i.e. the proposals
on initiating a dialogue over the proposals on reforming the "Electoral
Code", increasing the opposition’s role in the political life etc.
It turns out that at the current stage of overcoming the existing
post-electoral crisis in Armenia, the PACE considers that it is
necessary for the conflicting parties to be bald enough to solve,
first of all, two groups of issues. They will pave the way for the
steps directed towards the future, i.e. the reform of the political,
as well as the electoral system.
It’s obvious that PACE anticipates that the first group of issues will
be solved by the Armenian opposition and especially ex-President
Ter-Petrosyan. As regards the second group, i.e. the calls for
manifesting good will, lifting the state of emergency, distinguishing
the political figures from the organizers of the disorders and the
acts of violence, they are addressed to the authorities.
Due to the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe and its representative J. Prescott, we are dealing with serious
and fundamental proposals which may serve as grounds for initiating a
political dialogue in Armenia. The party which received no more than
21 percent of votes during the elections and ultimately suffered
a defeat in the Constitutional Court has to recognize the results
of the February 19 elections, and the authorities, in their turn,
have to lift the restrictions related to the state of emergency as
quickly as possible.
We believe that such balanced proposals may serve as grounds for
initiating a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition and
gradually improving the political atmosphere. In such conditions, the
opposition’s desire to continue the demonstrations after lifting the
state of emergency will acquire a new sense. If the PACE considers
that L. Ter-Petrosyan is obliged to recognize the authority of the
Constitutional Court and the legitimacy of its decision, it is natural
that in case of organizing new demonstrations and appealing against
the election results, the opposition will throw down the gauntlet
to the Armenian authorities and the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe.
Besides, if Ter-Petrosyan and his political team find will and
accept the decision of the Constitutional Court, their desire to
quickly destabilize the situation will become pointless. After all,
the opposition has all the opportunities to continue its political
activity in the near future within the limits of the law. The elections
of the Mayor of Yerevan are to be held in autumn, and the opposition
has the opportunity to continue its struggle for power since half of
Armenia is concentrated in Yerevan.
Thus, the recent proposals of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe contain all the conditions and prerequisites required
for initiating political consultations and transforming them into
a dialogue.
Each of the parties should be bald enough to pass the way that falls
to its lot and realize its own responsibility for the state and the
people, facing a great number of challenges in the post-electoral
period.