You Have to Work for Democracy, Former Ambassador Tells Armenia

No country becomes democratic right away; nothing happens just like that, said former US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans today at the “Assessing Independence in Armenia and the Region” public forum organized by the Civilitas Foundation.

A journalist asked the diplomat why US authorities didn’t assume a stricter stance in the aftermath of the 2008 presidential election in Armenia, especially when a diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks recently revealed that the US believed presidential candidate and current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian had 35% of the votes.

Evans, however, didn’t respond to the question directly, stating that “as they say, in Armenia, the best elections were the first.”

“Of course, in 2008, there was fraud but you shouldn’t wait that democracy will be created by itself — in no country has it happened like that. We all have to work in this direction. The events of Mar. 1–2 have had a very negative impact on Armenia, in terms of the Millennium Challenge program, democracy, civil society. But we shouldn’t overlook the tendency for reform. Yesterday, I was looking through Armenia’s yellow pages directory. There are so many businesses, so many shops,” he said.

German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt, also speaking on the panel, also said that despite the unfortunate events of 2008, today the Armenian authorities are carrying out significant reforms.

“There are fantastic professionals in Armenian ministries, in the prime minister’s [office]: such as, for example, in the justice ministry, in the Central Bank there are highly qualified specialists. They are working, but of course they can work better,” he said.

Photo: Civilitas Foundation Facebook page