KARABAKH DISCUSSED MECHANISMS OF INFLUENCE OF EUROPE ON POST-ELECTION ARMENIA
KarabakhOpen
11-06-2008 12:20:29
A few days ago the Karabakh-based Open Society NGO held a round-table
meeting on the response of European organizations to the Armenian
presidential election. The initiators of the discussion tried to find
out the mechanisms of influence of the European organizations on the
home political process in countries which are members of the Council
of Europe.
Members of the parliament committee of external relations,
representatives of the foreign ministry and NGOs participated in
the discussion.
The round-table meeting was conducted by the chair of the European
Integration NGO (Armenia) Karen Bekaryan. He underlined that the
election was observed by the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
In its first preliminary report the OSCE observed a number of
shortcomings but described the election as mostly compliant. The second
preliminary report which was released two weeks later noted that the
election was compliant but the post-election process causes worry. The
last report which made a political evaluation almost repeated the
PACE resolution 1609 the implementation of which will be discussed
in the PACE summer session on June 19 and 23. If the resolution is
not implemented, sanctions will be applied to Armenia.
With regard to the mechanisms of influence that Europe has, Karen
Bekaryan also pointed to the attitude of the other main actors toward
the election.
In particular, it was underlined that the United States is conducting
a wait-and-see policy, which causes certain tension. "If you remember,
the European countries and the CIS congratulations came immediately
after the election, whereas the congratulation of the United States
waited long. The stance of Russia was opposite to that of the
United States. Once again the European organizations functioned as
balancers. The role of the OSCE in this was great, which includes not
only the European countries but also Russia and the United States,"
Karen Bekaryan said.
According to him, the PACE reported two circumstances, the government
of Armenia could not ensure a normal, full post-election process
and in a state of confusion it took steps which contradict to
European values. First of all, the prohibition of rallies and
demonstrations. On the other hand, Resolution 1609 calls the
opposition to act in accordance with the law, accept the decision of
the Constitutional Court and appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights. Many interpreted this point as an appeal of Europe to dispute
the decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia at the European
Court and to hold another election. Although there is a .problem,
Karen Bekaryan says, the ECHR is not empowered to repeal the results
of elections in any country.
In answer to the question what will happen in case Armenia is
deprived of the right to vote in the PACE, Karen Bekaryan said this
sanction is the most "severe" one in the PACE. "If Armenia does
not implement the resolution, it will be deprived of the right to
vote. For Armenia, which has an unresolved conflict over Karabakh,
the loss of the right to vote may have a negative effect," said Karen
Bekaryan. He also underlined that the use of sanctions will mean that
the country is listed among those countries which have nothing to do
with democracy. Besides, such an attitude of the European Union which
is the main donor of Armenia may cause economic problems. It will be
also a political blow to the image of the country, which may affect
the stance of Armenia in the talks mediated by the OSCE.
With regard to how Armenia implements the requirements of the PACE,
Karen Bekaryan said Armenia simply will not manage to carry them out
in time.
There are things, however, which cause concern regarding time. On
the one hand, an effort was made to solve the problem of rallies and
demonstrations, on the other hand, the parliament started discussing
the report of the ombudsman. If the discussion of the law on rallies,
despite its shortcomings, was viewed as a positive step, the criticism
of the report of the ombudsman will cause the opposite reaction. "Is
it the right time to put pressure on the ombudsman, which will be
viewed as aggressive behavior during the meeting of the PACE?" Karen
Bekaryan said.
He thinks that if during the upcoming rally of June 20 all the relevant
agencies perform their functions if the mechanisms of assemblies
which are acceptable for the world work, no problems will occur. But
if one of the sides decides to answer provocations with provocations,
problems will occur by all means.