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WE DON'T HAVE CAVIAR
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/10/10/118663/
October 10, 2012 13:48
I first came across the term Caviar Diplomacy not in the speeches of
Armenian delegates to the PACE, but on the BBC website a few months
ago (http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/international/2012/06/120613_azeri_diplomacy_caviar_esi.shtml).
That article was about the report of the European Stability Initiative
NGO, which, by the way, has nothing to do with Armenians, made to the
British Parliament, according to which the Azerbaijani government tried
to neutralize the criticism of it bribing members of the Council of
Europe. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal the crying violations
of human rights in the neighboring country. The report itself was
entitled Caviar Diplomacy, although it was not only about caviar, but
many other kinds of bribes. For example, according to my information,
if any European official (not only from the PACE) intends to go toBaku,
his ticket automatically becomes a business class one, the hotel
becomes 5-star, other conveniences are luxurious and expensive and
naturally, the Azerbaijani government pays for all that. And Europeans
are so weak-willed that they accept those gifts with great pleasure and
present the problems of the Azerbaijani "democracy" in their reports
and letters mildly. They also say that no authoritarian country spends
so much money on concealing its problems. And there is a point in that
- Russia for one doesn't need that, if the Council of Europe adopts a
resolution that the Kremlin doesn't like, they will openly state that
they are not going to follow the "advice" mentioned in that resolution.
Countries like Azerbaijan or our country cannot afford such an attitude
for obvious reasons - we must think of our positive image.
However, in the case ofArmenia, there is a much shorter way than
bribing Europeans, particularly given the fact that we don't have
caviar. Particularly given the fact that our problems with democracy
are much smaller than those ofAzerbaijan. Moreover, they are smaller
than they were in 2009-10. Why should one take wrong steps and try to
justify or conceal them? I for one think that in the next few months,
the problems of the Armenian government regarding this will be: a. the
release of Tigran Arakelyan and assignment of much milder punishments
to all 4 guys; b. the "non-criminal" resolution of the Oskanian case.
I understand that the party members demand more - complete acquittal
etc. However, too much maximalism is often an obstacle in such cases.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/10/10/118663/
October 10, 2012 13:48
I first came across the term Caviar Diplomacy not in the speeches of
Armenian delegates to the PACE, but on the BBC website a few months
ago (http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/international/2012/06/120613_azeri_diplomacy_caviar_esi.shtml).
That article was about the report of the European Stability Initiative
NGO, which, by the way, has nothing to do with Armenians, made to the
British Parliament, according to which the Azerbaijani government tried
to neutralize the criticism of it bribing members of the Council of
Europe. Thus, there is an attempt to conceal the crying violations
of human rights in the neighboring country. The report itself was
entitled Caviar Diplomacy, although it was not only about caviar, but
many other kinds of bribes. For example, according to my information,
if any European official (not only from the PACE) intends to go toBaku,
his ticket automatically becomes a business class one, the hotel
becomes 5-star, other conveniences are luxurious and expensive and
naturally, the Azerbaijani government pays for all that. And Europeans
are so weak-willed that they accept those gifts with great pleasure and
present the problems of the Azerbaijani "democracy" in their reports
and letters mildly. They also say that no authoritarian country spends
so much money on concealing its problems. And there is a point in that
- Russia for one doesn't need that, if the Council of Europe adopts a
resolution that the Kremlin doesn't like, they will openly state that
they are not going to follow the "advice" mentioned in that resolution.
Countries like Azerbaijan or our country cannot afford such an attitude
for obvious reasons - we must think of our positive image.
However, in the case ofArmenia, there is a much shorter way than
bribing Europeans, particularly given the fact that we don't have
caviar. Particularly given the fact that our problems with democracy
are much smaller than those ofAzerbaijan. Moreover, they are smaller
than they were in 2009-10. Why should one take wrong steps and try to
justify or conceal them? I for one think that in the next few months,
the problems of the Armenian government regarding this will be: a. the
release of Tigran Arakelyan and assignment of much milder punishments
to all 4 guys; b. the "non-criminal" resolution of the Oskanian case.
I understand that the party members demand more - complete acquittal
etc. However, too much maximalism is often an obstacle in such cases.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN