WHAT’S THE BASIS OF THE POLITICAL DIALOGUE?

The PACE Monitoring Committee advances a proposal

The peak of the post-electoral political struggle is behind, and to think that after lifting the state of emergency it will be possible to bring the people to the streets and squares again is at least senselessness.
Naturally, there are currently many people concerned about the following question: how and on what basis is it possible to start the process of building bridges between the parties to the conflict?
It’s not accidental that on March 19 the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe appealed to the representatives of the Armenian authorities and the opposition, the two conflicting parties, to initiate a dialogue based on the three groups of proposals advanced by John Prescott, their representative.
The first refers to the authority of the Constitutional Court and its decision on the results of the elections, i.e. the necessity of recognizing the legitimacy of the President.
The second group of proposals covers the questions regarding the state of emergency, declared as a result of the March 1-2 events. This group of proposals also includes the issue of the arrests and is aimed at mitigating their negative consequences to the greatest possible extent.
As to the third group, it covers issues regarding the future relations between the Armenian authorities and the opposition, i.e. the proposals on initiating a dialogue over the proposals on reforming the “Electoral Code”, increasing the opposition’s role in the political life etc.
It turns out that at the current stage of overcoming the existing post-electoral crisis in Armenia, the PACE considers that it is necessary for the conflicting parties to be bald enough to solve, first of all, two groups of issues. They will pave the way for the steps directed towards the future, i.e. the reform of the political, as well as the electoral system. It’s obvious that PACE anticipates that the first group of issues will be solved by the Armenian opposition and especially ex-President Ter-Petrosyan. As regards the second group, i.e. the calls for manifesting good will, lifting the state of emergency, distinguishing the political figures from the organizers of the disorders and the acts of violence, they are addressed to the authorities.
Due to the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and its representative J. Prescott, we are dealing with serious and fundamental proposals which may serve as grounds for initiating a political dialogue in Armenia. The party which received no more than 21 percent of votes during the elections and ultimately suffered a defeat in the Constitutional Court has to recognize the results of the February 19 elections, and the authorities, in their turn, have to lift the restrictions related to the state of emergency as quickly as possible.
We believe that such balanced proposals may serve as grounds for initiating a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition and gradually improving the political atmosphere. In such conditions, the opposition’s desire to continue the demonstrations after lifting the state of emergency will acquire a new sense. If the PACE considers that L. Ter-Petrosyan is obliged to recognize the authority of the Constitutional Court and the legitimacy of its decision, it is natural that in case of organizing new demonstrations and appealing against the election results, the opposition will throw down the gauntlet to the Armenian authorities and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Besides, if Ter-Petrosyan and his political team find will and accept the decision of the Constitutional Court, their desire to quickly destabilize the situation will become pointless. After all, the opposition has all the opportunities to continue its political activity in the near future within the limits of the law. The elections of the Mayor of Yerevan are to be held in autumn, and the opposition has the opportunity to continue its struggle for power since half of Armenia is concentrated in Yerevan.
Thus, the recent proposals of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe contain all the conditions and prerequisites required for initiating political consultations and transforming them into a dialogue.
Each of the parties should be bald enough to pass the way that falls to its lot and realize its own responsibility for the state and the people, facing a great number of challenges in the post-electoral period.
ARMEN TSATOURYAN

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