Armenia is already experiencing the whole power of aggressive and neo-Ottoman aspirations of Türkiye and Azerbaijan։ Armen Gevorgyan
The first day of the PACE summer session in Strasbourg had several degates in its agenda. While addressing the assembly, Armenian MP Armen Gevorgyan drew the attention to several points.
“Europe is facing crucial challenges. They will define not only the place of Europe in the global order but also its future as a unique civilisation. I will elaborate about three such issues.
First, all institutions of European integration and co-operation should redefine their mechanism of operation and functionality. The Council of Europe has a special mission in this regard and the new Secretary General should deal will this challenge without delay. We have to avoid the evolution of the Council of Europe into a simple bureaucratic entity that serves the interests of the right governments. Such an approach has already resulted in a situation while the democratic institutions of Armenia, despite the reforms wanted by European taxpayers, are functioning in a non-democratic way. Unquestionable commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law are and must remain the only criteria for our organisation.
The second important challenge is the obvious abuse of the idea of the European perspective or path for domestic propaganda reasons. Let us face it, over time European aspirations have been allowed to become tools for the domestic political speculations and competition that have been damaging to this very idea. The European dream has in fact ceased being an encouragement for the elites to make reforms and positive changes. When the European idea is based only on the reason of staying in power, when it is inadequate to existing geopolitical and historical realities, it only becomes a source of new division lines inside the society. It is a fact that such negative processes are being started in Armenia too.
And the last, we observed trends of Islamisation as a tool of influence on domestic political processes in Europe and we see Türkiye’s role as the generator and main beneficiary of this. Two years ago I distributed a research report in this Assembly which showed how Türkiye and its minor ally Azerbaijan have used funds and influence to weaponise religion in Europe and against European democratic security. In these past two years, we see only new signs that this trend is well and alive. The most recent mutiny in French New Caledonia, according to French officials, encouraged by Azerbaijan, is just the latest example. Armenia is already experiencing the whole power of aggressive and neo-Ottoman aspirations of Türkiye and Azerbaijan. To avoid these new troubles and deeper division lines inside European societies, Europe must stand against this trend”.
Source – PACE website
