US envoy warns against election fraud in Armenia
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
18 Jul 05
The next presidential and parliamentary elections in Armenia must
be free and fair since any attempt to falsify election results is
“fraught with great risks”, the US ambassador to Armenia, John
Evans, has said. In an exclusive interview with Mediamax news agency
the envoy said that the United States was not in the business of
exporting revolutions between former Soviet countries and that
it backed the change of government through regularly scheduled
democratic elections. John Evans declined to comment on possible
progress in the Nagornyy Karabakh peace talks between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. The following is the text of the interview in English
by Armenian news agency Mediamax on 18 July headlined “Any attempt
to falsify election results will create a big problem, fraught with
great risks”; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
[Mediamax] Which direction of US-Armenian cooperation is of top
priority for Washington today? How true are the impressions that the
military and security issues have come to the fore?
[John Evans] The United States cooperates with the Republic of Armenia
in many different ways, and I would not want to list them in any
particular order, as immediate priorities can change from week to
week. Of course, the United States basically wants to see Armenia
develop successfully into a country characterized by a thriving
free-enterprise system, the rule of law, and strong democratic
institutions. If defence and security issues loom large at the present
time, it is only because the global war on terrorism demands it.
Elections must be free and fair
[Mediamax] Your predecessor at this post, John Ordway, said in an
interview with our agency last July that his biggest disappointments
during his work in Armenia were the presidential and parliamentary
elections, or rather the way they were carried out. What can the
United States do in order for the parliamentary and the presidential
elections in Armenia in 2007 and 2008 to meet international standards?
[Evans] The United States believes that the elections scheduled for
2007 and 2008 in Armenia must be free and fair, and perceived as such
by the Armenian electorate, as well as by international observers.
This is really a simple truth: democracies choose their new leaders
via the ballot box. The lesson of some other elections in this region
ought to be clear to anyone tempted to falsify election results:
the people are not stupid, and they will figure it out, and that will
create a big problem, fraught with great risks.
We are working to increase the likelihood of the next set of elections
being above reproach.
[Mediamax] Does the United States see any long-term role for Armenia
in their plans on the democratization of the so called Greater
Middle East?
[Evans] Democracy has to develop in each country according to its own
history, culture and circumstances. But a robustly democratic Armenia
would indeed be a beacon to those in this region who are themselves
trying to establish democracy in their own countries.
[Mediamax] Today, there are many speculations concerning the United
States’ so-called interest in the “export of revolutions” from the
former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine, in particular, to
Armenia. What can you say concerning this? How reliable as a partner
does Washington find the current Armenian leadership?
[Evans] The United States is not in the business of exporting
revolutions to the former Soviet republics or between them. We do
support the development of democratic institutions and the holding
of regularly scheduled free and fair elections as the established
and normal way to renew the leadership of those institutions.
We do not play favourites among candidates. We will work with anyone
who comes into office through free and fair elections. As for the
current leadership of the Republic of Armenia, we enjoy relations
characterized by a growing degree of trust and mutual support.
Karabakh talks
[Mediamax] A number of optimistic statements were made recently
concerning the beginning of the second stage of the Prague negotiating
process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Do you share this optimism
and are there any guarantees that the situation of four years ago
when the Azerbaijani leader rejected the agreements reached in Key
West with the USA’s active participation won’t repeat?
[Evans] You know, it is my friend and colleague Steve Mann who is
the US co-chairman of the Minsk Group that works on the question of
Nagornyy Karabakh, and I would prefer to leave such assessments to
him and the other co-chairs.
[Mediamax] The United States has maintained that the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict is unique in its characteristics and requires an approach
that is substantially different from settlement efforts in Georgia
or Moldova. Is that indeed the case?
[Evans] The Minsk Group is charged with working on the Nagornyy
Karabakh issue precisely for this reason.