ACCORDING TO RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN, TIME REQUIRES SERIOUS STEPS TO DEVELOP DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Feb 3, 2009
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. American Armenian analyst,
political scientist Richard Giragosian has been appointed Director
of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies. In his
February interview to journalists R. Giragosian stated that now ACNIS
marks the 15th anniversary of its creation, it will remain independent
and neutral and will strive for being helpful for Armenia with its
analyses concerning the political, economic, national security,
military sphere society is concerned with.
As the director assessed it, the current period is historic, and not
only for Armenia, it is a period of "alarm," and historic period
requires taking serious steps for development of real democracy
in Armenia.
According to Richard Giragosian, Armenia’s most radical difficulty
is that country’s political and economic systems "are completely
closed." He also said that the "political alarm" that started last year
continues up to the present: "However, the newest alarm that starts
and should be harder is the economic alarm, for the present these
authorities have shown that they are not ready for the economic alarm."
According to the analyst, the recent aggravation of Israel-Turkey
relations in Gaza sector is "very good" for the process of recognition
of the Armenian Genocide. He noted that for the first time the
U.S. Jewish lobbyist forces will not support Turkey: "the way is open,"
he emphasized.
Richard Giragosian assesses RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s meetings
with the Turkish Prime Minister and Azeri President in Switzerland as
"very interesting." He positively assessed the fact that a "process is
launched," since the meeting with President Gul (on September 6) up to
the present we "have been expecting Turkey to take a concrete step,
which, however, has not been done so far." The analyst considered it
more important that "there is an idea" in Turkey that the Embassy of
Turkey in Georgia also address issues regarding Armenia.
In response to a question about the recent arrest of two Armenian
activists in Javakhk the political scientist said that Javakhk is a
key to Georgia’s stability, unless all these radical difficulties,
economic crisis, etc. are solved, "it will be very bad and dangerous."