FAILURE TO HONOR COMMITMENT ASSUMED BY ARMENIA TO BECOME PIVOTAL ISSUE OF DISCUSSION IN PACE
YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, NOYAN TAPAN. “I hope that the political parties
will be able to make a concerted effort in order to reach an
agreement on the issue of constitutional amendments.” PACE President
Rene van der Linden, who is on a three-day visit to Armenia, stated
this at the August 19 press conference in Yerevan. In his opinion,
the constitutional reforms are the most important discussions of the
political issue procceding from the interests of the whole country.
For this very reason, he called upon all the sides to take joint
steps within the next few days in the direction of further
improvement of the draft, including the strengthening of the mass
media’s independence. According to PACE President, the proposed draft
is much better in its contents than the previous one, and it is
extremely important that all the political forces of Armenia support
the constitutional reforms. “It will determine to a great extent
whether Armenia will proceed along the path of becoming a modern
democratic state or not,” Rene van der Linden said. According to him,
since Armenia is still in the process of PACE monitoring, the failure
to honor the commitment assumed by Armenia will be a pivotal issue of
discussion in PACE. He noted that the Armenia- Council of Europe
relations also affect the Armenia – the European Union relations.