"WE DEMAND FAIR ESTIMATION"

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25 June, 2008

Today the relatives of the political prisoners staged a protest action
near the Yerevan Office of the Council of Europe. They handed a letter
to Lluis Maria de Puig, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe. The letter runs in part,

"We are writing to you on behalf of the wives, mothers and sisters
of Armenia’s political prisoners who have been charged and detained
in connection with the February 19 presidential election and its
aftermath. We welcome the willingness of the Council of Europe to
discuss Armenia’s compliance with the requirements of Res. 1609
which the Monitoring Committee has found "insufficient" to date. We
recognize, as Mr. Colombier pointed out to us, that it is not
within the competence of the Council of Europe to detain our family
members or to release them. However, given the independence of the
legislature and judiciary in Armenia, the role and responsibility of
the international organizations that Armenia is a member of becomes
specifically important. Hence, the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe must make it absolutely clear to the government
that words are no substitute for deeds, and that Armenia must
comply with the letter and the spirit of the obligations it has
undertaken as a member of the Council of Europe. Finally, we ask
that the Parliamentary Assembly adopt clear and unambiguous wording
in its documents regarding the presence of political prisoners in
Armenia. The existing phrase, "persons detained on seemingly artificial
and politically motivated charges," is subject to misinterpretation
and deliberate misrepresentation. Our family members are political
prisoners and they must be recognized as such. They have been detained,
tried and sentenced purely for their peaceful and lawful participation
in the 2008 presidential election. We call upon the CoE to publicly
acknowledge that there are political prisoners in Armenia and to make
it clear to our government that this cannot and will not be tolerated."

"We must thank Ter-Petrossian for awakening people from sleep. We are
confident that democracy will win one day in the country. We demand
that the CoE give a fair estimation to the recent events in Armenia,"
said a woman-protester.

The protesters then directed to the President’s residence.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress