PACE Tries to Make Agramunt Resign: Naira Karapetyan (EXCLUSIVE)

• 05.03.2017, 18:55
•  Europe,  World,  Interview

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"Armedia” IAA has talked with Naira Karapetyan, RA National Assembly Deputy, a member of the Armenian delegation to PACE on the recent scandal around PACE President Pedro Agramunt and the possibility of his resignation.

- PACE Bureau banned on Agramunt to make statements and visits on behalf of the organization. Does PACE have some other leverages to force Agramunt to resign?

 - The first leverage is that the Spanish parliament, which sent Agramunt’s candidacy to the Assembly for approval, calls it back. The second leverage is what is now being done: all the political groups are trying to come up with different statements and pressures, as well as various decisions of the Bureau, such as the ban to act on behalf of PACE. The Bureau will try to use all the levers to force Agramunt to resign.

In its operating regulations PACE has no regulation for recall or impeachment, so there is no way to force PACE President to resign against his will. That is, at the moment, if Agramunt resigns, it will be voluntary. Knowing Agramunt, I think he will use all the levers for not doing it. PACE initiated changes to add the impeachment point, but this is not a short process. Currently, the committee voted just in favor of such a report, but will require more time for preparation of the report. That is, if Agramunt does not resign under pressure, his withdrawal will take more time. Possibility, that Agramunt will not resign, is bigger, because this man is devoid of moral values. He actually ignored the pressure, boycott of the majority of PACE deputies. He did not have the political will to voluntarily leave office.

-  What role did Agramunt's involvement in the Azerbaijani "caviar diplomacy" played in this scandal?

- Discrediting Agramunt started from his being an Azerbaijani lobbyist, and our institutions - delegation, diplomats, diaspora organizations- have a big role here. Agramunt was presented as an easy corrupt person, and this has naturally had a major impact on his image. Let’s remember the reports published by the Institute for European stability. Now, when Agramunt crossed boundaries with his willful decisions and behavior, in this light his previous steps were also remembered.

In this context the Azerbaijani delegation behavior is very interesting: trying to maintain a neutral position, however, they are trying to use every appropriate opportunity to ease the negative statements made against Agramunt. Two of the three members of the Bureau voted against depriving Agramunt powers were the representatives of the Azerbaijani delegation.