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JOHN PRESCOTT: IF ARMENIA NEEDS DEMOCRACY, IT IS NECESSARY TO CREATE RELEVANT CULTURE
arminfo
Thursday, October 6, 13:24
If Armenia needs democracy, it is necessary to create a relevant
culture, John Prescott, PACE Monitoring Committee Co-Rapporteur,
said during debates at PACE on the Report On Function of Democratic
Institutions in Armenia.
Prescott highlighted certain changes in Armenia after the problem of
functioning of democratic institutions was discussed for the first
time after the public disorders in March 2008.
He recalled that dozens were jailed, 10 were killed. After adoption
of the first resolution, 130 people were set free via amnesty, he said.
Reforms are underway, the right to free assemblies and rallies is
guaranteed now. There are changes in the electoral legislation, the
police, Mass Media and Television are undergoing reform, and all this
is reflected in the report, Prescott said.
Nevertheless, he expressed concern over the fact that no independent
inquiry was conducted over the deaths of the 10 people.
He highlighted the necessity of a transparent inquiry into the given
case to find those who committed the murders, which is very important
for further democratic development.
Prescott said that the president of Armenia initiated another inquiry
to study the circumstances of those murders and promised to report
on its in late 2011.
The Monitoring Committee's report defines the criteria to be applied
to that inquiry, Prescott said and stressed the necessity of the police
reform to increase the level of its accountability. He declared at the
Assembly that the monitoring would be continued. The report is over,
he said, but the monitoring must be continued.
As for electoral changes, he said that it is necessary to restore the
trust in the acting politicians. The situation is improving, he said,
there is opposition both inside the parliament and outside it. He
thinks that there are some sprouts of democracy, but the point is that
the extra-parliamentary opposition could not cooperate with those
who worked in the government agencies as long as all the detainees
were in jails. The key political forces must discuss preparations
of the elections of 2012. It is important for all the politicians
in Armenia to admit that if the country needs democracy, they must
create a relevant culture, Prescott said. They can adopt numerous
laws, but it will change nothing if the people do not trust in the
system and authorities, he said.
As for the work on the report, Prescott said that they did much but
not enough. He thanked the president of Armenia and said that the
president, speaker, opposition representatives exerted combined efforts
to achieve improvements. The monitoring is not over and the work
carried out was not perfect, but the Monitoring Committee has achieved
certain democratic changes in the country, which is significant. Now,
everything depends on the people and the ways they will fight to
achieve democratic accountability and real democracy in the country.
arminfo
Thursday, October 6, 13:24
If Armenia needs democracy, it is necessary to create a relevant
culture, John Prescott, PACE Monitoring Committee Co-Rapporteur,
said during debates at PACE on the Report On Function of Democratic
Institutions in Armenia.
Prescott highlighted certain changes in Armenia after the problem of
functioning of democratic institutions was discussed for the first
time after the public disorders in March 2008.
He recalled that dozens were jailed, 10 were killed. After adoption
of the first resolution, 130 people were set free via amnesty, he said.
Reforms are underway, the right to free assemblies and rallies is
guaranteed now. There are changes in the electoral legislation, the
police, Mass Media and Television are undergoing reform, and all this
is reflected in the report, Prescott said.
Nevertheless, he expressed concern over the fact that no independent
inquiry was conducted over the deaths of the 10 people.
He highlighted the necessity of a transparent inquiry into the given
case to find those who committed the murders, which is very important
for further democratic development.
Prescott said that the president of Armenia initiated another inquiry
to study the circumstances of those murders and promised to report
on its in late 2011.
The Monitoring Committee's report defines the criteria to be applied
to that inquiry, Prescott said and stressed the necessity of the police
reform to increase the level of its accountability. He declared at the
Assembly that the monitoring would be continued. The report is over,
he said, but the monitoring must be continued.
As for electoral changes, he said that it is necessary to restore the
trust in the acting politicians. The situation is improving, he said,
there is opposition both inside the parliament and outside it. He
thinks that there are some sprouts of democracy, but the point is that
the extra-parliamentary opposition could not cooperate with those
who worked in the government agencies as long as all the detainees
were in jails. The key political forces must discuss preparations
of the elections of 2012. It is important for all the politicians
in Armenia to admit that if the country needs democracy, they must
create a relevant culture, Prescott said. They can adopt numerous
laws, but it will change nothing if the people do not trust in the
system and authorities, he said.
As for the work on the report, Prescott said that they did much but
not enough. He thanked the president of Armenia and said that the
president, speaker, opposition representatives exerted combined efforts
to achieve improvements. The monitoring is not over and the work
carried out was not perfect, but the Monitoring Committee has achieved
certain democratic changes in the country, which is significant. Now,
everything depends on the people and the ways they will fight to
achieve democratic accountability and real democracy in the country.