The PACE co-rapporteurs Alexis Fisher and John Prescott issued a statement today calling for reform projects to be implemented. While welcoming the authorities’ many initiatives for electoral reform and reform of the judiciary and the police, the co-rapporteurs on the honoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia say that it is now time for these initiatives to be translated into action. The rapporteurs emphasized in information note that legislative changes alone are not sufficient and ‘should be accompanied by policies aimed at changing existing practice and mentalities’. According to the note, the ongoing detention of certain persons for their role in the events of March 2008 and the lack of a proper inquiry into the causes of the 10 fatalities which occurred at that time ‘continue to poison the political environment in Armenia’ and could well have ‘a negative impact on next year’s elections’. It is pointed out in the note that the current status quo with regard to reforms, combined with political polarization and the deteriorating social and economic environment, ‘could potentially lead to renewed social unrest if unaddressed and not followed by genuinely democratic elections’. The rapporteurs intend to write a report on the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia, for debate at the autumn 2011 part-session of the Assembly. It means the PACE in a direct text warns the Armenian authorities that the resource of “tolerance” has already run out. It means that there is no time to listen to persuasion and that instead of talking it’s time to take concrete steps otherwise they will have serious problems in the form of social uprising. By the way, in an interesting coincidence yesterday the Ambassador of the US to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch mentioned that Armenia is currently not eligible for receiving additional U.S. economic assistance under a program designed to reward good governance and reforms around the world. She said the approaching parliamentary and presidential elections in the country will be an opportunity for the Armenian government to improve its democracy and human rights record and thus again qualify for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program. “We hope that this program has made and will continue to make a real impact on the rural community in terms of increased wealth,” Yovanovitch told journalists. The U.S. diplomat made clear that Yerevan can not apply for more MCA aid for the time being. “Perhaps at some point in the future, there might be a possibility,” she said. “Every year, every country is reviewed for eligibility. At this point, Armenia is not eligible for a second compact due to where it stands on the MCA indicators.” Yovanovitch specified that President Serzh Sargsyan’s administration should, among other things, hold more democratic elections. “As Armenia enters into an election cycle, with parliamentary elections next year and presidential elections the year after, there is an opportunity to boost these indicators,” she said. “Obviously, conduct on the day of elections is an important thing but so is freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the many other things that go into general good governance,” she added. Yovanovitch urged the Armenian authorities to hold free elections, respect civil liberties and embark on other “deep and difficult” reforms in a recent speech at Yerevan State University.
