2008 ORDINARY SESSION

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(Second part)

REPORT

Sixteenth Sitting

Thursday 17 April 2008 at 10 a.m.

      We have held hearings about China and we have all witnessed the strange journey of the Olympic torch, which was escorted like a dangerous criminal. Only after huge protests against Chinese policy in Tibet did the President of the International Olympic Committee start to speak about human rights. Our Organisation is sometimes in a similar situation. I speak about our inability to react at the right time. We respond only when the crowds are on the streets and inadequate steps have been taken by a government. That is exactly the case with Armenia.

      We have produced several reports and we observed the elections and our remarks were rather critical but not so strong. Armenia was not so much in focus. It is a sad story that it was not the irregularities in the elections or the basic lack of freedoms but the fact that people were killed that attracted our attention. In fact, the problems existed long before that happened.

      Our Azeri colleagues usually say that the Assembly has double standards. I think that there are simply two illusions regarding some countries. First, a government has the illusion that the imitation of democratic institutions is enough for rapporteurs and observers, and the Assembly has the illusion that mild and diplomatic words in reports really reflect democratic developments. In fact, there is one double standard that I saw when I opened the files on the procedures of the Monitoring Committee. Since 2001, there have been six reports on Armenia and seven reports on Azerbaijan, but we have had only three reports on the Russian Federation since 1996. I agree with the opinion expressed by Mr Pourgourides in our political group when he said that what happened in Armenia after the presidential elections was not only about Armenia. It is even more about Russia, which is the big power in our family and without democratic intentions.

      My remarks are not so critical of the report. It is on the right track, but a lot of work needs to be done. There is another country with political prisoners and there are many questions about the constitution and the media. The Heritage Party, which is in the opposition, is in the Group of the European People's Party. On behalf of the group, I say that, although I recognise that it is a difficult task, the duty of the opposition is not just to protest but to show a democratic alternative for the society.