Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-13-Speech-4-194"
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"en.20080313.18.4-194"2
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"Mr President, the present political crisis in Armenia is not the first.
During the presidency of Levon Ter-Petrosian the country began to depart sharply from liberal and democratic standards. The main opposition parties were banned, freedom of the press was restricted, and parliamentary elections were generally recognised as not meeting all democratic criteria. Mr Ter-Petrosian resigned as president under the pressure of demonstrations. That brought some stability to the country, but it was ended by the dramatic murder in parliament of nine leading Armenian politicians, including the prime minister, by unknown assassins.
We are now seeing a repeat of what happened some 10 years ago. The present crisis, however, may perhaps be due to the weariness of Armenian society with the governments of the so-called Karabakh Clan, to which both the former and the present president belong. The government is widely accused of restoring authoritarian rule under the guise of democracy, with mafia-type control of business activities and a deteriorating economy.
There is also a growing fear of Armenia’s increasing isolation and the gradual weakening of its position in the unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. When Mr Ter-Petrosian decided to return to politics and stand for election, his promise of greater flexibility in foreign policy won him considerable support.
The present crisis is very deep, however. Let us hope it will be resolved by political means, although that is not at all certain. If not, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh may be stepped up in an attempt to unite society around the government. A recent incident in Karabakh in which 11 people died confirms this fear. Another result may be a further strengthening of Armenia’s increasing dependence on Russia. The recent inauguration of the Armenia-Iran pipeline will not weaken that dependence, since the gas, and the pipeline itself, will of course be controlled by Gazprom.
Our attitude to the serious situation in Armenia should be friendly, but we should not refrain from criticism or from expressing concern where necessary. I believe the position proposed in this resolution meets those criteria."@en1
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