During the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Wednesday member of the Armenian delegation, chairman of Heritage party Raffi Hovhannisian made a surprising and unexpected announcement. The latter announced that he was going to quit his involvement in the PACE until Armenia complies with its and EU standards, and Europe realizes its values and directions of activities. There are two different opinions concerning this decision on the part of Raffi Hovhannisian. The pro-government media presented that fact as a huge affect on the international reputation of Armenia. A number of opposition representatives think that by this act Raffi Hovhannisyan represented the approaches of a part of the Armenian nation at the PACE. Other people say this was done for campaign purposes. We are presenting the mentioned part of Raffi Hovhannisyan’s speech concerning implementation by Armenia of Assembly Resolution 1609 as it follows:
“There is no shame in accepting the truth. For Azerbaijan, it is the right of mountainous Karabakh to live in liberty on its ancestral lands, owning up to the barbaric attack on the Armenian, thus European, heritage at Djulfa, Nakhichevan. The Council of Europe stands by in geopolitical silence, even offering special concessions to select, well-caressed members.
There is no shame for Turkey in facing the truth. Hopefully, in tomorrow’s debate and beyond, someone will see the imperative and have the political courage and moral fortitude to analyze the issues in a broader context. The philosophy of the state, as well as the exclusivist legacy of the Armenian genocide and the great Armenian dispossession of 1915, demonstrate the importance of community rights, human rights, Article 301 and the freedom of speech.
This is a truly European opportunity for our Turkish colleagues – not a problem or a threat or a challenge. It is in their interests for the future, and we wish them well. The same could be said of our friends in Georgia, who could do a better job in respecting Armenian, Azerbaijani and other minority rights, and taking care of the properties that belong to the communities. None of the aforementioned should ever be used to excuse Armenia’s democratic shortcomings. It is clear – Armenian civil society demands that we address this – that Armenia has not passed democracy’s test on all counts. Scores of prisoners of a political character remain detained and incarcerated, and they must be released forthwith, not in January.
Several politically active citizens continue to be harassed for their political point of view. The 1 March government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and the fatal opening of fire that killed eight civilians and two policemen have not led to the opening of individual criminal cases. To date, there are no suspects: no-one is alleged to have ordered the firing or to have executed them. That is a travesty of the judicial process. We all know the famous quote by the Polish author: if you want to see a county’s true face, look at how it tries its citizens. Even private hotels have been pressured not to allow meetings of civil groups and opposition parties.
Finally, the right to assembly, free association and free speech remains at the discretion of security agencies and, later, a judiciary that is far from independent. To date, there has been no meaningful dialogue on the Armenian scene.
It has been merely window dressing. Each and every initiative of the Heritage Party to launch a dialogue, in process and in substance, has been refused.
I do not know about the Assembly and its criteria, but it is evident that for the time being the Republic of Armenia and the Council of Europe do not deserve each other. Hence, I wish you success in your future deliberations, your voting and your future monitoring, but I hereby suspend my participation in the affairs of the Assembly until such time as Armenia meets standards – its own and Europe’s – and Europe rises to the realization of its own values, rights and benchmarks.”