Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-13-Speech-4-188"
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"en.20080313.18.4-188"2
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"Mr President, recent events in Armenia show how difficult it is for fledgling democracies in the former Soviet Union to trust the electoral process. Those who hold power are tempted to stack the cards in their favour, especially in the run-up to elections, whilst those who lose find the results difficult to accept.
The problems we have seen in post-election Armenia have been compounded by violent clashes, resulting in eight fatalities, and by the imposition of an extraordinary measure in the form of a state of emergency. Bans on all political activities and strict censorship of the media were imposed on 1 March 2008 for a 20-day period. The ban on political activities has subsequently been lifted. Media freedom, including unrestricted internet access, is to follow. Indeed, all normal constitutional freedoms should be restored next week.
Unfortunately, it cannot be ruled out that the state of emergency will be extended. For now, a lid has been put on the pressure-cooker. I am concerned about what is being done to release the source of the pressure.
Building democracy is a complex process. It must be safeguarded by institutions in which all parties place their trust. It is, therefore, regrettable that the outgoing President has attacked his country’s human rights ombudsman, who criticised government actions. It is only by strengthening the role of the ombudsman and also by ensuring impartiality of the constitutional court, which investigates allegations of electoral fraud, that democracy can be protected.
Until there is faith in Armenia’s own guardians of democracy, I strongly urge all parties in the dispute to make use of the mediation offered by the EU and the OSCE envoys and to do so immediately."@en1
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The resource appears as object in 2 triples