OSCE Striving To Defuse Armenia’s Post-Election Crisis
By Jean-Christophe Peuch 03/14/08
The OSCE’s diplomatic point man for handling Armenia’s domestic crisis is not confident that political dialogue can restore a sense of stability in Yerevan.
Heikki Talvitie, the diplomatic troubleshooter designated by OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ilkka Kanerva to promote an end to the Armenian crisis, addressed the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on March 13, reporting on his talks with various Armenian political leaders. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
In general, Talvitie did not sound overly optimistic about the prospects of the OSCE’s mediation efforts. “Whether we will succeed in this, we will see in the near future,” he told representatives of the organization’s 56 participating states.
He said his own discussions with President Robert Kocharian, President-elect Serzh Sarkisian and the main opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian did not leave him with an impression that there was much common ground. “The government didn’t see too many possibilities to open a dialog with Ter-Petrosian. On the other hand, Ter-Petrosian was also very reluctant to make any move towards the government at that point,” Talvitie said.
During his presentation, Talvitie called for the quick lifting of a state of emergency in Armenia. At about the same time he was speaking in Vienna, Armenian President Robert Kocharian announced the lifting of media restrictions that had been imposed under a state of emergency on March 1. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Despite Kocharian’s announcement, at least five independent news websites in Armenia that have been blocked since the start of the state of emergency – including А1+ and Haykakan Zhamanak – remained unavailable to readers on March 14.
As it strives to promote the return of political stability in Yerevan, the OSCE is intent on defending its own reputation as a democracy-building organization. Many opposition supporters in Armenia hold the OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights partly responsible for the crisis.
In an op-ed published in the March 5 issue of the “Washington Post,” opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian blamed Western nations in general and ODIHR election observers in particular for turning a blind eye to what he described as successful government efforts to rig the election campaign. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
“What surprised and dismayed us was the deafening silence from the West. What dismayed us even more was the technical report of the observer mission from the [OSCE,] which rubber-stamped [Sarkisian’s] farcical claim of victory,” Ter-Petrosian wrote. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
In earlier comments, Ter-Petrosian had said he was holding the government and international election observers equally responsible for the alleged fraud.
The ODIHR-coordinated International Election Observation Mission concluded on February 20 that, despite a number of shortcomings, the presidential ballot had been “competitive” and “mostly in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards.” [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
While sticking to its initial statement, ODIHR subsequently gave a more nuanced assessment of the ballot. In its first post-election report, in early March, the mission said observers documented anomalies in a number of polling stations and territorial election commissions. Among the documented irregularities were flawed recounts, an “implausibly high voter turnout,” results for Sarkisian “in excess of 99 percent,” and discrepancies between the number of votes and the number of ballots issued to voters. The report also says the way Armenia’s central election body handled complaints “raises concern about its commitment to ensure the protection of citizen’s electoral rights.”
How Kocharian’s opponents interpret those conclusions is unclear. Under state of emergency restrictions, it was difficult for members of the opposition to gain access to news accounts of the election mission’s post-vote findings.
Editor's Note: Jean-Christophe Peuch is a Vienna-based freelance correspondent, who specializes in Caucasus- and Central Asia-related developments.
