ARMENIA: YEREVAN AVOIDS PACE PUNISHMENT YET AGAIN
Marianna Grigoryan
EurasiaNet
Jan 28 2009
NY
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe declined on
January 27 to punish Armenia over Yerevan’s failure to implement
mandated reforms in the wake of 2008’s political violence in the
Armenian capital Yerevan.
At stake in a January 27 PACE vote was the suspension of Armenia’s
voting rights in the European legislative body. By a 141-3 margin,
deputies decided not to impose such a punishment on Yerevan. In so
acting, PACE appeared to back away from implementing penalties outlined
in two previous resolutions, both of which demanded that the Armenian
government provide a full and transparent account of its actions during
the 2008 political crisis. So far no such independent investigation has
been conducted [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. PACE
had also demanded that the government release what the European group
portrayed as political prisoners being held in Yerevan.
A third PACE resolution, adopted January 27, extended the
organization’s deadline for Armenia’s compliance with democratization
mandates until April. "It was important that Armenian colleagues
understand that the Assembly sought to integrate Armenia into the
community of values to which it had chosen to belong, and not simply
to criticize," said PACE President LluÃ~CÂs Maria de Puig.
Last November, PACE’s patience with Armenia’s foot-dragging appeared
near an end. Following a fact-finding tour late that month, Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg told
EurasiaNet that Yerevan would be stripped of its voting rights unless
it implemented required reforms by the late January deadline. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
In the weeks leading up to the January 27 PACE vote, Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan granted amnesty to at least a dozen individuals, and
pardoned 16 others, all of whom had been jailed in connection with
the February-March political violence in Yerevan. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Despite these moves, opposition
leaders maintained that dozens of other individuals remain behind
bars and should be counted as political prisoners.
Pro-government lawmakers in Armenia applauded PACE’s restraint. "The
prospect of Armenia being deprived of its voting right seemed vague
to me," parliament member Eduard Sharmazanov of the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia told EurasiaNet. He went on to insist that Armenian
leaders were committed to fulfilling the requirements outlined in
PACE resolutions. "Authorities [in Yerevan] have the political will
and they are taking steps," he said. "We have until April, but we
realize we will be continuously implementing reforms."
Vardan Khachatrian, a MP and member of the opposition Heritage Party,
expressed doubt over whether the Armenian government would make the
PACE-mandated changes by the new deadline. He suggested that PACE
lacks leverage to enforce compliance on Yerevan, and Armenian leaders
are keenly aware of this. "It was clear Armenia would not be deprived
of its voting right, because Armenia and Azerbaijan have to stand on
an equal position," Khachatrian said, referring to the ongoing peace
process surrounding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
Yervand Bozoyan, an independent political analyst, expressed the
belief that the government would at least take some steps to please
PACE before the next deadline passes. "Authorities [in Yerevan} are
not interested in straining the situation and will most likely take
real steps by April," Bozoyan said. "If Armenia loses its voting
right in April it will hurt the country’s image significantly."
Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
in Yerevan.
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