OSCE representative rejects amendments to Armenian draft law on assembly
Arminfo
20 May 05
YEREVAN
The amendments to the Armenian law on conducting rallies and
demonstrations adopted by the Armenian National Assembly in their
first reading do not fully meet the requirements of international
experts, the deputy head of the OSCE office in Yerevan, Elaine
Conkievich told our correspondent.
In particular, the restriction on conducting mass actions on bridges,
in tunnels and building sites “if conducting mass actions in these
places can harm the health of those taking part” contained in the
draft law does meet international requirements but the ban on
conducting mass actions within a radius of 150 metres of the
president’s residence, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, the Central
Bank, the public TV and radio buildings, gas storage plants and the
Orbita-2 satellite ground station does not.
Conkievich said that, on the other hand, putting forward the blueprint
of a proportional representation system would be a positive thing but
stressed that she had not fully familiarized herself with the text of
the amendments to this law yet, since she had not received the text of
amendments from the Armenian National Assembly yet.
[Passage omitted: further details of the amendments]