Member of the Armenian National Assembly delegation to the PACE, Hripsime Grigoryan, delivered a speech at the ongoing annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.

 

«Thank you, Madam Chair.»

 

Before addressing the report and thanking the rapporteur for the good report on the observation of the elections in Armenia, I would like to respond, or rather, I must respond to the statements made by Mr. Edward Lee in his speech. In fact, when talking about attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Church, I would call his speech based on incomplete information.

 

In reality, the Government of Armenia and the state of Armenia are protecting the Church through their actions. The reason for this is that the person currently occupying the seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians is directly involved in illegal actions aimed at overthrowing the state order of Armenia. His brother is an agent, an international agent, which is confirmed by facts and documents, from a country that… excuse me, if you allow me, I will continue.

 

And lastly, the bishops have not been arrested for being bishops. Criminal cases have been initiated against them. The final outcome is not for us to decide; that should be determined by the court, but these criminal cases relate to alleged terrorist actions against civilians, against the people of Armenia.

 

Now I would like to address the report during this one and a half minutes allocated to me and once again thank the rapporteur. Let me start with what should be the starting point of this discussion. On June 7, the citizens of Armenia made a decision freely, in a competitive election environment, and their decision was respected. According to the report, voters were provided with a real choice in a properly organized process, the election day was conducted in an organized and calm manner, and voting in the overwhelming majority of polling stations was assessed positively. This achievement is particularly important as these were not ordinary elections. Armenia faced external interference and information operations, which are characterized in the report as unprecedented for a member state of the Council of Europe. Nevertheless, our institutions stood firm.

 

Dear colleagues, the positive assessment does not give us grounds to be satisfied with the existing results. The report raises issues that require our attention—funding of the pre-election campaign, impartiality of the media, accessibility. We must work on these issues, and we will do so.

 

At the same time, claims and perceptions cannot be automatically presented as established violations. Conclusions regarding the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and parliamentary representation, especially those with significant consequences, require thorough legal assessment, rather than political assumptions.

 

Democracy in Armenia has been tested multiple times. On June 7, it underwent another serious test. The citizens of Armenia defended democracy, their sovereign right to determine their future, and, above all, peace.

 

Now it is our responsibility to strengthen these three.

 

Thank you»,- concluded the speech of the MP.