“After the March 1 clashes I believe the president would have been able to initiate steps which would have eased the post-electoral tension and polarization, and made it possible after one-more disputed election, to take courageous steps and set a new precedent in Armenia. During the past year, such a precedent unfortunately was not set, and in the absence of courageous steps, time works in no one’s favor,” during yesterday’s press conference responded the former minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan when asked about the current status of democracy. “Maybe because of different reasons it didn’t happen. And this is not only my evaluation. Also reputable international organizations came to this conclusion, according to which we are registering certain regress. This worries me a lot because we were not only stagnant but also regressed. Maybe the president wants to use the right moment and fulfill his electoral promises. I was really hoping that the president would take courageous steps because he had and still has political back-up. Besides he declared good things after the March 1 events. Unfortunately it didn’t happen and a year has passed and now it’s time for more courageous steps,” says Oskanyan.
