HEAD OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO PACE: PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE WORKS WITH BOTH AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION AND DOES ITS BEST TO HELP THE COUNTRY MONITORED TO DEVELOP IN THE RIGHT, DEMOCRATIC DIRECTION

ArmInfo
2009-05-12 18:33:00

ArmInfo. The PACE Monitoring Committee works with both the authorities
and the opposition and does its best to help the country monitored to
develop in the right, democratic direction, Chairman of the Standing
Parliamentary Commission for State and Legal Affairs, Head of the
Armenian Delegation to PACE David Harutyunyan said, Tuesday.

He pointed out that monitoring is a dynamic process, which may
aggravate or dampen, and this depends not on the change of the
Commission’s position, but on the work done by the country. Armenia is
constantly taking steps, some of them are assessed positively, some are
criticized, and this is normal. From the viewpoint of amendments to the
Criminal Code legislation in Armenia, we carried out our obligations,
and the changes in accusations against the defendants were estimated
positively",- David Harutyunyan said.

Commenting upon the statement of Zaruhi Postanjyan, member of the
heritage parliamentary faction and Armenian Delegation to PACE, that
they will try to raise the issue of replacement of Co-Rapporteurs
Prescott and Colombier, David Harutyunyan pointed out that any MP
may raise this issue and added that Postanjyan is not a member
of the Monitoring Commission. "This is an important issue, and
the Monitoring Committee has considered possible introduction of
the rotation principle, i.e. the variant according to which PACE
Co-Rapporteurs implement their mission over a certain period of time,
afterwards they are replaced by others",- he said.

If one of the members of the Delegation disagrees with the nominees of
co-rapporteurs, it is quite an ordinary phenomenon, but the decision
on this is taken by the Monitoring Commission, he said. Harutyunyan
added that the co-rapporteurs on Armenia are reasonable and experienced
politicians. The fact that John Prescott held the post of Vice Premier
longer than anybody in the history of Great Britain comments itself.