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What Goal Do The Successive Hearings Pursue?

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  • What Goal Do The Successive Hearings Pursue?

    WHAT GOAL DO THE SUCCESSIVE HEARINGS PURSUE?
    Vardan Grigoryan

    Hayots Ashkhar Daily
    Published on April 19, 2008
    Armenia

    It is noteworthy that on April 17, the day PACE passed the report
    on the "Situation of the Democratic Institutions in Armenia", the
    Committee on "Security and Cooperation in Europe" or the "Helsinki
    Committee" of the US Congress also started discussions over agenda
    "Armenia after the Elections."

    It's more than clear that after PACE's holding long-lasting and
    detailed hearings and debates and adopting the report, the discussions
    held in the "Helsinki Committee" of the Congress would add nothing
    new to the international community's assessments on the post-electoral
    situation in our country.

    Moreover, from the point of view of following the situation of the
    democratic institutions in our country, introducing relevant proposals
    and achieving their adoption, they have been more pedantic and rigorous
    during the recent years, compared to the US Republican Administration
    which is clearly guided by geopolitical interests.

    However, even in conditions of such pedantry and rigorousness, the
    report adopted in Strasburg on April 17 is quite balanced, and it
    enables the new leadership of Armenia to bring to life the specific
    proposals before the start of the PACE summer session.

    Therefore, the factor currently troubling our country is not absolutely
    the contents of the international community's demands (introduced in
    the spring session of PACE) of conducting an independent inquiry into
    the March 1-2 events, releasing the individuals arrested by political
    motives, refusing to implement the changes introduced to the law on
    "Holding Assemblies, Rallies, Marches and Demonstrations."

    We are sure that their phase-by-phase implementation in the course
    of the coming months is not absolutely "beyond the powers" of the
    Armenian authorities and political forces.

    The real problem consists in the following: what particular goals
    does the leadership of the given state or international tribunal
    pursue by introducing reports, proposals and recommendations? And in
    this respect, it is noteworthy that the top figures of the US State
    Department and first of all, Condoleezza Rice, have started dropping
    open hints at the existence of new opportunities for the solution of
    the Karabakh issue during the coming months.

    What gives rise to more concern is the US State Department release
    which says the United States and the international community do not
    recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state. The release was
    published on April 17, the day the Helsinki Committee held discussions
    over the issue "Armenia after the Elections". It is also noteworthy
    that during the discussions devoted to the internal political situation
    of Armenia, the American Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
    Bryza acted as a rapporteur, making tough and unilateral assessments
    on our country's current situation.

    In the meantime, special attention was paid to the issue on how
    the recent developments of Armenia may influence the process of the
    Karabakh settlement talks. M. Bryza assured the participants that
    the Armenian and Azeri Foreign Ministers will meet in the course
    of the coming month, with the purpose of preparing the negotiations
    between Ilham Aliev and Serge Sargsyan. This testifies to the fact
    that the United States hopes to finish the coordination of the
    Karabakh settlement principles before the Presidential elections
    to be held in Azerbaijan on October 15. Obviously, the official
    Washington's intention to link the attempts of speeding up the
    process of the Karabakh settlement talks with the investigation of the
    recent developments of Armenia and the situation of the democratic
    institutions may create an ambiguous situation for our country. The
    fact is also understood in Azerbaijan; therefore, Foreign Minister
    E. Mamedyarov has been recently making "constructive statements"
    on Azerbaijan's willingness to resume the negotiation process.

    It seems to Azerbaijan that Armenia may hereafter be viewed as a
    retreating country in terms of the development of democracy and even be
    compared with it. And the "concern" expressed by the Azeri delegates
    over the situation of the democratic institutions in Armenia as well
    as the false demands of not applying "double standards" against the
    country may be accounted for by this.

    We believe that before the Presidential elections to be held in
    Azerbaijan on October 15, our Foreign Ministry should adopt the
    tactics of making an equivalent response to the tough stance of the
    Azerbaijani leadership.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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