The FINANCIAL, Georgia
May 29 2008

Armenia: `few tangible results’ on PACE demands so far, says
Monitoring Committee

29/05/2008 11:15

The FINANCIAL — The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Kyiv on 26 and 27
May 2008, welcomed the initiatives taken by the Armenian authorities
to address the issues contained in Resolution 1609 (2008) on the
functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia.

However, it is concerned that, to date, these initiatives have led to
only a few tangible results regarding compliance with the demands of
the Assembly as set out in this Resolution.

In Resolution 1609 (2008), the Assembly resolved to consider the
possibility of suspending the voting rights of the Armenian delegation
at the start of its June 2008 part-session unless considerable
progress is made on the following requirements:

¢ to revoke, in line with Venice Commission recommendations, the
recently adopted amendments to the Law on Conducting Meetings,
Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations;

¢ to start an independent, transparent and credible inquiry into
the events on 1 March 2008, as well as the circumstances that led to
them;

¢ to release the persons detained on seemingly artificial and
politically motivated charges;

¢ to initiate an open and serious dialogue between the political
forces on the reforms demanded by the Assembly.

The committee noted that the required changes to the Law on Conducting
Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations have been passed at
first reading by the National Assembly of Armenia and expects them to
be adopted and promulgated before the start of the June part-session
of PACE. It welcomes the steps taken to initiate a dialogue on the
reforms requested by the Assembly, most notably with respect to the
electoral system and the status and rights of the opposition. It
expresses the hope that those opposition leaders who to date have been
reluctant to participate in this dialogue will now consider joining.

That said, the committee is seriously concerned about the lack of any
noticeable progress on the opening of an independent and credible
enquiry. The format envisaged of a parliamentary ad hoc committee to
carry out the inquiry into the events on, and leading to, 1 March will
lack the requisite independence and credibility demanded by the
Assembly, unless the participation of extra-parliamentary opposition,
civil society and international experts is guaranteed. The committee
also regrets that no progress has been made regarding the release of
persons detained on seemingly artificial and politically motivated
charges.

The committee is convinced that, although time is limited, it is still
possible for the Armenian authorities to address the requirements of
the Assembly in time for the visit of the co-rapporteurs of the
committee in the week before the June part-session.

Therefore, the committee instructed its Chair to ask on its behalf for
a debate under urgent procedure during the June 2008 part-session of
the Assembly if the co-rapporteurs, following their visit to Armenia
on 16 and 17 June, conclude that insufficient progress has been
achieved by then.