PACE INCLUDES ARMENIAN ISSUE IN AGENDA OF SUMMER SESSION

Interfax News Agency
June 24 2008
Russia

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Monday voted
unanimously to include the issue of Armenia’s compliance with PACE
Resolution 1609 into the agenda of its forthcoming session on June 25.

The vote was not objected by Armenia.

The PACE resolution on the functioning of democratic institutions in
Armenia was passed in connection with the March 1 riots in Yerevan that
followed the February 19 presidential election won by Serzh Sargsian.

It urged Armenia to launch an independent inquiry into the death of
ten people in clashes between rioters and police, guarantee freedom
of assembly, and release all political prisoners.

George Columbier, a co-reporter of the PACE Monitoring Commission,
demanded an immediate response on the issue of political prisoners
in Armenia, saying that only those who committed criminal offenses
should remain in custody.

Commenting on a proposal to strip the Armenian delegation of the
right to vote in the PACE, Columbier said that "sanctions will not
automatically free all prisoners."

The commission’s co-reporters visited Armenia on June 16-17 to assess