Council of Europe hopes for fair presidential elections in ArmeniaNovember 5, 2007 - 15:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "The Council of Europe will keep on cooperating with Armenia for its further integration into European structures," Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis said at a meeting with students of Yerevan State University. "New opportunities are provided for greater democratization of the Armenian society," he said. "Armenia has worked a long way during recent 6 years but it's not enough to completely meet European standards. The adoption of reviewed Constitution was a step forward. Election of Mayor of Yerevan via a popular vote and expansion of local self-government authority are the main achievements here," he said. "However, there are minuses as well. The leadership and opposition fail to establish a culture of dialogue. You should strengthen struggle against corruption and fix a provision on alternative military service in the legislation," Mr Davis said. When touching upon the 2008 presidential elections, he voiced hope that the elections will be free and fair. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. Armenia designates flood-hit communities as disaster areas The emergency situation was created by floods caused by heavy rains in Armenia’s north on May 25-26. |