NA Vice Speaker and Head of Delegation to PACE Hermine Naghdalyan counters the critics
– Yesterday, during the debate at the National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee, RPA parliamentarian Hamlet Harutyunyan recommended to modify the composition of the Armenian delegation to PACE, referring to the fact that the delegation defeated in the face of the PACE Political Affairs Committee’s accepted resolution, “The rise of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” In fact, your fellow-party members are unhappy with your work, because Hamlet Harutyunyan has literally said, “If a team defeats, then the coach should be changed, and the team members.” He, however, refrained from giving names.
– I, as well as, most of our delegation members have repeatedly said and now we are also ready to repeat that we are ready to give this responsibility to someone else who thinks that he can come and work efficiently, who will assume it effectively and will lead successfully. This is not a position for us, nor a stance, this is a commitment and responsibility. Actually, the processes are serious and important, and it is absolutely unacceptable to convert it into a conversation for a struggle for a position by someone or another opportunity. Indeed, this is a responsible task. Since mid-2014, after the accession of the Crimea and the subsequent termination of powers of the Russia Federation to PACE, Armenian delegation to PACE is working under the conditions of the broad anti-Armenian campaign and in cooperation with and support of foreign affairs agencies, it is doing the maximum possible to neutralize the dangers.
Even though the conditions are very unequal, however, so far we’ve been able to solve the problems. As for the recommendation to change the composition of the delegation, let me say that PACE delegations are formed in accordance with the PACE rules and procedures and in compliance with the structure of the national parliaments. In other words, our delegation must be comprised of RPA and opposition representative by the number in accordance with the structure of our parliament: five ruling party and three opposition members. Actually, the delegation is formed by three RPA faction MPs and five opposition MPs. So, if you want to have an explanation, ask the fellow members which delegation members’ and which faction representatives’ work is unsatisfactory for presenting our national and state interests at the PACE.
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For me, as a head of the delegation, of course, there are problems which sometimes happened to the parliamentary delegations, as the delegation does not act by the principle of vertical subordination. The decision of the head of the delegation is not extended over all the members for binding implementation. The delegation members represent individual parties and often have their own party agenda or individual political or personal problems and views. In this regard, so to speak, a second task of the head of the delegation is to try to come up unified and consolidated at least in the cases when the issues refer to the national and state interests because Armenia’s delegation is very small in number. We have only four votes for voting and another four delegates, who can work. Each plenary session lasts 4 to 5 days: numerous committees, political team sessions, plenary sessions, speeches, interpellation, and all of this should be accompanied by working with individual country delegations or parliamentarians to present our problems, explain them and create an advantageous situation for us, as well as neutralizing negative initiatives.
– Don’t you think that parliamentarians can be included in the delegation: Foreign Affairs Minister Vartan Oskanian from the same PAP party, former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan and Tevan Poghosyan from “Heritage” party, who can endure more effective work through their personal connections?
– I think this conversation is not quite correct because each faction decides on itself and presents its offer. This is up to these factions. If the opposition factions are willing to make changes in their staff, they need to come to an agreement among themselves. As for the representatives of the political majority, then there is an RPA faction, National Assembly Speaker and a party leadership and in this sense, the issue regarding the composition passes a quite long debating. Indeed, personal features, political experience, world outlook, preparedness, language skills, the knowledge of working in international institutions, personal connections and relationships, the ability to create all these features is very important in this work. All of this is not created in one day, and it is important that the delegation members be in compliance to this standards, and the supply and the expertise of the delegation created in the meantime should be preserved and transferred.
– In 1992-95, the president’s special envoy David Shahnazaryan offers to form a special group and gives the names of those who might be involved there to prevent the acceptance of the disputed report with such wordings at the PACE January session as a result of complex, active and efficient workflow.
– I have very closely studied both the opinions and the approaches of David Shahnazaryan and the ones voiced in these days in the media and have analyzed them. I do not have an unhealthy vision that I or the delegation members are ideal, cannot have drawbacks and subjected to criticism. Especially, I have carefully studied the publications that contain valuable professional approaches, and I can say that most of the proposed actions and steps have been or are being carried out. I am totally not against the formation of a working group or any other opportunity and thus benefiting this process. But also, as a person performing the work directly and someone who has worked in the PACE for many years, knowing the delegation members as persons with years-long experience, awareness and training, speaking about the work by the main part of the delegation members, I can say for sure that they really are well-aware of the task and have done their utmost.
Interviewer Nelly GRIGORYAN,
“Aravot” daily
