ISSUES RELATING TO COMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS AND NKR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT DISCUSSED AT OSCE PA DELEGATION’S MEETINGS AT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Noyan Tapan
Feb 06 2007
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues relating to the Karabakh
conflict settlement, regional energetic security and electoral
processes were discussed at the February 5 meeting of the delegation
headed by Goran Lennmarker, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly with Vahan Hovhannisian, the NA delegation head at the OSCE
PA, NA Deputy Speaker, and delegation member Artashes Geghamian. OSCE
PA Deputy Chairperson Tone Tingsgard, OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer
Oliver, OSCE PA Deputy Secretary General Tina Schon, Communications
Director Klas Bergman, President’s Adviser Thomas Horberg are among
the delegation staff.
G.Lennmarker mentioned that the OSCE attaches great importance to free
and just holding of the parliamentary and president’s elections in
Armenia what will have great importance in the issue of development
of democracy in Armenia.
It was mentioned that OSCE PA Deputy Chairperson Mrs.Tone Tingsgard
will be appointed as the OSCE PA observation mission head to
Armenia. Touching upon the regional energetic security problems,
Mr.Lennmarker emphasized the importance of the issue for Armenia,
mentioning that problems of the energetic security are widely discussed
in all over the world. Expressing his anxiety on the occasion of the
NKR conflict settlement process, Mr.Lennmarker mentioned that a golden
possibility for solution of the problem is being lost. In his opinion,
the OSCE Minsk Group proposals are still the best solution of the
problem settlement. In the OSCE PA President’s opinion, it is time to
reach mutual agreement on the problem settlement what is important not
only for the conflicting countries but also for the region and Europe.
NA Deputy Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian highly estimated importance
of the OSCE activity in the regional processes. Mr.Hovhannisian
attached importance to holding free and just elections and presence
of observation missions, welcoming within this context the appointment
of Mrs.Tingsgard who is famous among the society as a just and strict
observer. Reforms of the Electoral Code were touched upon, it was
mentioned that a series of reforms were implemented which make the
electoral process more transparent and controlable. The amendment
was attached importance, according to which equal TV broadcast will
be given during the pre-electoral campaign to all political parties
not only by state but also by private TV channels.
Touching upon the NKR problem settlement, the NA Deputy Speaker
mentioned that starting from late 90s the OSCE Minsk group did a
volumnious work, and the Co-Chairmen presented some valuable proposals
which were accepted by Armenia and refused by Azerbaijan what is an
obstacle for any positive movement in the negotiations process. The
aggressive and warlike statements again made by Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev during the recent days do not assist the peaceful
settlement of the process as well as create a dangerous situation,
what contradicts the OSCE regulations and European ideology. In
V.Hovhannisian’s words, re-start of the war will have disastrous
consequences first of all for Azerbaijan. In this sense, the claim of
the head of the Turkish delegation to the OSCE addressed to Azerbaijan
to take the territories "belonging" to it with arms is concerning
and inadmissible.
Artashes Geghamian mentioned that the problem of power-generating
materials is in the basis of torpedoing of the Karabakh conflict
settlement by Azerbaijan. In his opinion, Azerbaijan, still after
singining the cease-fire in 1994, avoided the peaceful settlement
on various pretexts to be able to implement constructions of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum gas
pipeline. If the pipelines passed over borders of Karabakh and Armenia,
at least 1 bln dollars less would be spent on their construction. In
his words, it is a pity, the international community and international
structures did not put pressure then on Azerbaijan what they now do
towards Russia, connected with supplies of Russia towards Europe. In
A.Geghamian’s opinion, unpunishment and international community’s
indifference brought to the fact that Azerbaijan has today initiated
construction of the Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway at the
cost of 700-800 mln, in the case when the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi-Baku
railway, existing and having proved its economic purposefulness
and not demanding additional investments for the re-putting into
operation, does not function only because of the blockade of Armenia
being continued for more than 17 years. Geghamian mentioned that the
opposition in any case may have insuperable disagreements with the
authorities, excluding the issue of the Artsakh problem settlement
demanding a joint decision. In A.Geghamian’s opinion, the peaceful
settlement of the issue demands a universal solution which must be
obliged to the sides within the framework of obligations undertaken
at the Council of Europe. In his opinion, the process of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement depends also on holding the elections
to take place in Armenia in correspondence with the European standards.
As the Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA NA Public Relations
Department, the delegation headed by OSCE PA President Goran Lennmarker
also met at the Parliament with Armen Rustamian, the Chairman of
the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations. OSCE mission head to
Armenia Vladimir Pryakhin was present at the meeting.
A.Rustamian presented the spheres of activity of the committee headed
by him, mentioning that development of interparliamentary ties and
implementation of parliamentary diplomacy in the foreign policy
are within the framework of the committee’s responsibility. All
the international agreements adopted at the parliament were
and are passed by the committee. Joining them, Armenia more
deepened the Eurointegration process. All the documents which
gives Armenia possibility to have legislation corresponding to the
all-European standards, were mainly adopted. It was mentioned that
the amended Constitution opened a new door for implementation of the
obligations. Considering the European integration as one of priorities
of the foreign policy of Armenia, A.Rustamian mentioned that the
European Neighbourhood Policy Actions Plan signed in Brussels opens
new prospects of development in all the directions for the Armenia-EU
relations.
Touching upon the Artsakh problem settlement and attaching importance
to international structures as well as to role of parliamentary
organizations in the issue of the problem settlement, Rustamian
expressed a viewpoint that not only contents of the proposed
solutions but also the atmosphere created in the society, how much
the authorities prepare the societies for mutual compromises,
are important in the problem solution. As the EU policy is open
borders, open society, free trade, in Mr.Rustamian’s opinion, the
conflict settlement is possible in conditions of mutual cooperation,
interparliamentary cooperation, regional economic cooperation. It
was mentioned that the committee org anized parliamentary hearings
two years ago concerning the Karabakh conflict settlement.
Mr.Rustamian considered the coming elections as the most important
ordeal for Armenia in the sense of democracy, in his opinion, one
must do its best for free and transparent elections are held.
G.Lennmarker mentioned that the integration to Europe is based
on respect towards universal values so the necessity of holding
the elections according to the European standards is attached
importance. In the conflicts settlement issue Lennmarker attached
importance to activization of the dialogue with neighboring
countries, role of the parliamentary diplomacy and development of
innerparliamentary ties.