{"id":172756,"date":"2012-04-03T10:43:23","date_gmt":"2012-04-03T06:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epress.am\/?p=172756"},"modified":"2012-04-03T10:45:48","modified_gmt":"2012-04-03T06:45:48","slug":"us-envoy-laments-%e2%80%98apathy%e2%80%99-urges-more-civic-activism-in-armenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2012\/04\/03\/us-envoy-laments-%e2%80%98apathy%e2%80%99-urges-more-civic-activism-in-armenia.html","title":{"rendered":"US Envoy Laments \u2018Apathy,\u2019 Urges More Civic Activism in Armenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Ambassador John Heffern on Monday complained about what he described as widespread voter apathy in Armenia and urged its citizens to be more active in fighting for democratic change, RFE\/RL’s Armenian service reports<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Heffern cited a recent US-funded opinion poll which suggests that only about one in ten Armenians believe that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be free and fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who want to build democracy in Armenia can\u2019t stop with statements about what \u2018they\u2019 should do,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead, Armenians should do their part to build institutional networks and coalitions to make their voices heard and establish and utilize mechanisms that deter fraud and hold government accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a speech dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Armenia, Heffern said many Armenians feel that their government is disinterested in \u201cmeaningful change\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese Armenians fear that reform in their country has stalled and, as a result, real opportunity \u2014 whether political or economic \u2014 is reserved for the few,\u201d he said. \u201cThis model, they warn, will lead to incremental reforms that are at best marginal, and at worst counterproductive by giving the false illusion of progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is important to take this perspective seriously, in part because many Armenians do \u2026 I do not, however, personally share this pessimism and apathy about the prospects for change and reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Armenian authorities have repeatedly promised such reforms. As recently as on Mar. 10, RA President Serzh Sargsyan pledged to radically \u201ctransform\u201d Armenia\u2019s political and socioeconomic systems at a pre-election congress of his Republican Party. Like Heffern, Sargsyan also lamented the domestic \u201catmosphere of pessimism and despair,\u201d saying that the situation in the country is better than many ordinary people think.<\/p>\n

Armenian opposition leaders and other government critics scoff at such rhetoric, saying that it has still not been backed up by concrete actions. They claim that the Sargsyan administration is not serious about its pledges to ensure the proper conduct of the May 6 parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n

However, those pledges seem to be taken more seriously by US officials. Eric Rubin, a US deputy assistant secretary of state, said last November that the authorities in Yerevan are committed to holding a clean vote.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Heffern revealed a recent opinion poll in Armenia that was commissioned by the US National Democratic Institute. The poll found that only 12 percent of voters expect the upcoming elections to be democratic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that many Armenians are impatient, and feel that the pace of change is too slow. \u2026 Some impatience is a good thing, especially if it can be channeled into a force for positive change. But impatience can also be debilitating if it slides into apathy and cynicism,\u201d Heffern said.<\/p>\n

While citing and praising Sargsyan\u2019s stated commitment to \u201cEuropean values,\u201d the US envoy noted that some elements within Armenia\u2019s political leadership oppose genuine reform. \u201cThere are those who believe in \u2018exemptions\u2019 (usually for themselves) or have \u2018reservations,\u2019 and some of them have the power to block change,\u201d he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Ambassador John Heffern on Monday complained about what he described as widespread voter apathy in Armenia and urged its citizens to be more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tstyn_error":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[40096,13906,26767,40095],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}