ARMENIA HAS NO HUMAN RIGHTS
Mikhail Zygar

Kommersant
April 18 2008
Russia

The Council of Europe threatens to deny Armenia the right to vote
Yesterday the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
decided to deny the Armenian delegation the right to vote from June,
this year, unless Yerevan provides for the observance of human rights
and the freedom of the press, and releases political prisoners. Such a
strict measure is reaction to the presidential election in Armenia,
which was rendered rigged by the PACE. At the same time a group
of delegates censured Vladimir Putin’s order to establish special
relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Armenian issue was brought up during the current PACE session
throughout the week. Monday it was decided to consider separately
the topic of the recent presidential election and the one of the
observance of human rights in Armenia. As to the former, the verdict of
the Council of Europe was more or less neutral, whereas the latter was
going to be subjected to severe criticism. The Armenian opposition, in
its turn, supported separating the matters. "We presume that Armenian
politics and inter-party struggle is our own business. Neither Europe
nor Russia has the right to interfere," Ovanes Yegityan, head of the
Armenian delegation to the PACE from 1992 – 1998, told Kommersant,
"But the human rights issue is quite a different matter. The PACE
should articulate its position on violence, arrests and political
prisoners." According to Mr Yegityan, he managed to come to Strasbourg
hardly escaping arrest in Yerevan, and he is sure to be arrested as
soon as he returns. "I’m well-known in the PACE. In Strasbourg they
know that I am no terrorist, nor bandit, and I’m only persecuted for
expressing my views openly. So my example proves that opposition is
persecuted for political reasons," he told Kommersant.

Britain’s ex-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and France’s Georges
Colombier delivered a report on the situation in Armenia, which opened
yesterday’s debates. The British stated as far back as Monday that the
fraud during the presidential election didn’t influence its outcome,
but yesterday he was less emollient, "Not a single recommendation
of the Council of Europe regarding Armenia has ever been met. The
latest election was marked with fraud, which can cast doubt on
the outcome of the election. In Armenia there is the atmosphere of
jealousy and distrust towards major democratic institutions. As a
result of the election, violence sparked, 10 people were killed, and
thousands arrested; candidate Ter-Petrosyan is under house arrest,
the freedom of speech and assembly has been restricted, and evidently,
human rights have been violated."

A resolution drafted by Mr Prescott and Mr Colombier calls for Armenia
to provide for independent investigation of the events of March 1 as
soon as possible, to release all political prisoners, to begin dialogue
with opposition, to amend the law on mass assembly, and to lift all
restrictions on the freedom of speech. According to the resolution,
unless Armenia fulfils the requirements, it will be denied the right
to vote at the next PACE session June. John Prescott underscored that
during his inauguration, the new president Serzh Sargsyan pledged to
alter the legislation so that it could comply with the standards of
the Council of Europe.

Igor Chernyshenko, Deputy Head of the Russian delegation, attempted
to come to the rescue of the Armenian government. He stated that
"the Armenian society is now stabilizing, various political parties
are trying to consolidate, that’s why the PACE must send a message
that we support the Armenian government in its desire to resolve the
conflict. I suppose that any government has the right to defend itself
by any means available, even using force sometimes."

The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Hungarian Parliament,
Mattias Yorshi, retorted that "The European Council should not have
integrated Armenia until the latter held at least one legitimate
election. But there haven’t been any. Of course we can say that Armenia
has taken another step towards democracy, but it’s not true. Elections
are rigged, there is the lack of democracy, and distrust of democratic
institutions in that country. In June we will have to be honest to
acknowledge that the requirements we laid down onto Armenia won’t
have been met. The government will make no compromise because there
is no environment to control it. Alas, I’m pessimistic about it."

Andreas Herkel, Head of the Estonian delegation, supported his
colleague, although he claimed that the Armenian government was
not the only one to blame for what was happening in that country –
"It’s the reflection of the state of affairs in Russia."

The Armenian delegation took things easy. Its members had prepared
several amendments to the resolution, but approved of it on the
whole, claiming that Armenia would do its best to fulfil all the PACE
requirements. The only thing to exasperate the Armenian delegation
was criticism on the part of the Azerbaijan delegation. "If Azerbaijan
wants to be the paragon of democracy, it must hold fair presidential
elections this year and resolve the case of political prisoners. You’d
better get the beam out of your eye before preaching virtue," said
the indignant delegate Armen Rustamyan.

In the end, with the majority voting for it, the resolution was
passed. Konstantin Kosachev, Head of the Russian delegation, told
Kommersant that he voted for it keeping in mind the stance of the
Armenian delegation, which considered the resolution acceptable and
balanced. According to Mr Kosachev, by the time the summer session
of the PACE opens, the matter will have gotten less sharp, and unless
there is new unrest in Yerevan, possibly, no sanctions will be imposed
on Armenia.

After the debates on Armenia finished, many of the delegates showed
their interest in the news regarding Georgia, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. The notorious Mattias Yorshi was quick to draft "Declaration
on the unilateral decision of the Russian Federation to legitimate its
links to the Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia." The
document expresses worry about Vladimir Putin’s recent order regarding
the issue and reads that Russia tries to undermine the territorial
integrity of Georgia, that’s why Russian peace-keepers may not stay
in the frozen conflicts zones anymore. In conclusion, the declaration
calls on the UN Security Council to change Russia’s peace-keepers
with those of the UN.

The declaration hasn’t become an official document of the PACE,
only "stating the viewpoints of the 25 signatories," but the list
of the signatures Mattias Yorshi managed to collect, is rather
impressive. Besides the ever-critical-of-Russia Lord Russell-Johnston
and Roumania’s senator Ilie Ilashku (who participated in the
war between Moldova and Transnistria), the speakers on Russia –
Switzerland’s Andreas Gross and Dik Marti, as well as Belgium’s Luc
van den Brande – signed the document.

Mr van den Brande and Greece’s Theodoros Pangalos are the delegates
to deliver a report on the situation in Russia this fall. Next week
they arrive in Moscow with their first inspection. They are supposed
to have a meeting with Russia’s Justice Minister Vladimir Ustinov,
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, Heads of the Supreme and
Constitutional Courts Vyacheslav Lebedev and Valery Zorkin, and Deputy
Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev.

Dik Marti, the current speaker on Chechnya, became more active during
the present session, too. He delivered a four-page information report
and asked the Assembly to give him mandate to visit Chechnya. Russia’s
Dmitry Vyatkin promised to render his assistance.

For all that, Russia’s delegates acknowledge that the critical
potential regarding Russia has grown with the PACE, and the criticism
of Moscow can become much more intensive within a few next months.