NATIONAL MOVEMENT DOES NOT ASSESS UNEQUIVOCALLY PACE RESOLUTION 1620

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ne 27

The assessment of the PACE’s new resolution No 1620 on activities of
democratic institutions in Armenia and the developments related to its
adoption cannot be unequivocal: there are both positive and negative
tendencies, is said in the statement of the Center of the National
Movement led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian. The
statement was made public by the center’s representative Levon Zurabian
at the Pastark Club on June 27.

In particular, the statement authors indicate that one positive
development is that "the trickery of the Armenian authorities and their
report on fulfilment of resolution No 1609 actually failed, and the
fulfilment of the requirements was evaluated as unsatisfactory, which
allowed to include the issue in the agenda of the summer session of
the PACE". According to the statement, another positive development
is that thanks to the new resolution, the actions of the Armenian
authorities will remain under PACE’s control, "under conditions
of the remaining possibility of imposing the respective punitive
measures". The statement authors also welcome the stipulation of new
requirements on "holding an open, fair and public tender" concerning
A1+ television company, as well as "more definite and comprehensive
requirements on release of the political prisoners". "We welcome
the resolution’s statement that the authorities should not use
inappropriate restrictions on rallies, especially in the issue of
choosing a place for a rally," is said in the statement.

Among the negative developments is that "the Council of Europe
proved its inability to oblige the Armenian authorities to fulfil
the requirements of resolution No 1609 within the indicated period,
which is the consequence of the indecision and unprincipledness of
the Council of Europe in this issue".

The PACE corapporteurs on Armenia’s issue John Prescott and Georges
Colombier are noted as the persons directly responsible for this
development. "The response of the PACE resolution No 1620 to fulfilment
of the requirement on restoration of the freedom of assemblies causes
perplexity, particularly, its welcomimg the police’s permission
to hold the June 20 rally at the last moment – in conditions when
this rally was officially banned, and by violating people’s right of
free movement throughout Armenia, the police illegally hindered the
rally’s holding till the last moment. The resolution’s opinion about
fulfilment of the requirement on formation of the March 1 commission
(NT: the National Assembly ad hoc commission for examination of
the March 1 events) is also beneath criticism. We do not accept the
refusal to assess the independence, reliability and publicity of the
commission – with the justification that the commission was set up at
the last moment. The authorities are to blame for delayed creation of
the investigative commission, and this delay should have received a
tough assessment of the PACE, which did not happen," is said in the
statement of the Center of the National Movement.