JUSTICE MINISTER OF ARMENIA MAKES SOME REMARKS ON EXTRAORDINARY REPORT BY ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN
arminfo
2008-05-29 14:53:00
ArmInfo. Justice Minister of Armenia Gevorg Danielyan made a number
of remarks on the extraordinary report by Ombudsman Armen Haroutiunyn
on post-election processes in the country.
Thus, the minister remarked that the report does not mention its
specific legal basis. The minister said that in conformity with the Law
on Ombudsman the latter has a right to make an extraordinary report in
case of cross violation of human rights. In this connection, he was
to mention the specific ground for publication of the report. ‘The
content and the scheme of the report aim to analyze the pre- and
post-election developments in Armenia. In the meanwhile, the analysis
of the presidential election cannot be a juridical basis for such
report since it is a topic for political research>, the minister
said. He believes the report ‘overloaded’ with discourses not within
competence of the human rights defender, in particular, the part in
the report that tries to explain the inexpediency of the criticism
at the first president Levon Ter-Petorsyan. ‘To put it shortly, the
considerable part of the report is devoted to grounding the political
stance saying that ‘the authorities chose the wrong and futureless
tactics in their campaign>>, G. Danielyan said.
To recall, Armenian Ombudsman Armen Harutiunyan came out with
a suggestion that an independent commission should be set up to
investigate the March 1 events.
On April 25, when presenting an extraordinary report on the situation
before and after presidential election in Armenia, Harutiunyan made a
number of proposals aimed to stabilize the domestic political state in
the country. In particular, he suggests that the Electoral Code should
be reformed: the system of formation of electoral commissions, count
of votes, etc. should be reconsidered. According to the Ombudsman,
it is necessary to take steps to consolidate freedom of speech. This
concerns creation of conditions for formation of pluralism and
objectivity of e-media, as well as equal participation of oppositional
and pro-governmental forces in the process of formation of bodies
regulating the activity of television and radio.
Harutyunyan said that the draft laws which ungroundedly restrict
human rights and freedoms (for instance, the recent amendments to
the RA Law on rallies, demonstrations and processions) should be
excluded. He also suggested setting up an independent commission
with international experts to investigate the March 1 events. He
pointed out the necessity of fight against the oligarchic system
of governing. Liquidation of monopolies will contribute to this,
he added. "The most dangerous and short-sighted thing in the current
situation is imitation of reforms", Harutyunyan said.