PACE: ARMENIA HAS MADE INCREMENTAL PROGRESS
Ruzan Khachatryan

"Radiolur"
23.06.2009 14:52

The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe continues in Strasbourg. The issue on Armenia is on the agenda.

Yesterday co-rapporteurs John Prescott and Georges Colombier presented
the report on Armenia at the sitting of the Monitoring Committee. The
resolution to follow will be considered during tomorrow’s sitting.

The report notes that, as a result of the efforts by the Parliamentary
Assembly, as well as other parts of the Council of Europe, and also the
excellent co-operation with the Armenian delegation to the Assembly
over the last 15 months, incremental progress has been made by the
Armenian authorities to comply with the demands of the Assembly: the
controversial amendments to the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies,
Rallies and Demonstrations have been repealed; an investigation into
the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 has started; important changes to
problematic provisions in the Criminal Code have been adopted and
several reforms recommended by the Assembly have been initiated.

That process has now culminated in an amnesty as a result of which
most, albeit not all, persons deprived of their liberty in relation
to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, will be released. At the same
time, the Monitoring Committee notes that the fact finding group
to establish the facts with r egard to the events on 1 and 2 March
2008 and their circumstances has been disbanded due to insurmountable
tensions between its members and considers that the disbandment of the
fact-finding group should not be allowed to circumvent the conclusion
of an independent and credible inquiry as demanded by the Assembly.

Therefore, although the declaration of amnesty means that the
authorities have complied with a crucial demand of the Assembly and,
most importantly, that an important new page has been turned in the
normalisation of Armenia’s political life and resolution of the crisis,
the Monitoring Committee notes that these achievements should not be
seen as the end of the process.

The report concludes that the Monitoring Committee should fully
support and accompany that process in the framework of the regular
monitoring procedure of the Assembly with respect to Armenia.

In the draft resolution the Parliamentary Assembly welcomes the
adoption, on 18 March 2009, of the amendments to Articles 225
(mass disorders) and 300 (usurpation of power) of the Criminal
Code of Armenia, which, in the opinion of the European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), generally represent
an improvement over previous provisions in that they reduce their
scope for overbroad and abusive interpretation. It takes note of the
important impact of these changes on the cases of persons deprived
of their liberty in relation to the eve nts of 1 and 2 March 2008
that are still under consideration by the courts.

However, it notes that these changes do not have any impact on other
cases that are considered of serious concern by the Assembly, such
as the cases of persons charged, or convicted, solely on the basis
of police testimony, without substantial corroborating evidence.

In the view of the Assembly, the release of all persons deprived of
their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 who
did not personally commit grave acts of violence would alone provide
the necessary basis for the start of the dialogue and reconsolidation
that is needed to overcome the political crisis that ensued after the
Presidential election of February 2008. In addition, their release
would meet the concerns and demands of the Assembly in this respect.

The Assembly therefore welcomes the proposal for a general amnesty
submitted by the President of Armenia to the National Assembly on
16 June 2009 and its prompt adoption by the National Assembly on 19
June 2009.

As for the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and
Demonstrations, the assembly notes that despite positive changes,
requests to organise rallies are still often rejected by the
authorities on technical grounds, or that undue restrictions are
placed on them. It therefore reiterates its call for the authorities
to respect the principle of freedom of assembly in practice, and to i
mplement any recommendations resulting from the project being carried
out jointly by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the implementation of
the amended law on rallies and demonstrations.

With regard to the reform of the media, the Assembly welcomes the
adoption, on 28 April 2009, of amendments to the Law on Radio and
Television, which were elaborated in close consultation with the
Council of Europe and are aimed at ensuring the independence of the
media regulatory bodies in Armenia.

With regard to the election of the Yerevan City Council on 31 May
2009, the Assembly notes the conclusions of the observer mission
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe. However, the numerous allegations that fraud and violations
were widespread during these elections demonstrate that public trust
in the electoral process is still very low in Armenia. This, as well
as the shortcomings and violations noted, underscores the fact that
electoral reform should now be a priority for the authorities.

The Assembly, reiterating its demands expressed more than a year ago in
its Resolution 1609 urges the Armenian authorities to implement without
delay further reforms of the police, including the establishment of
a proper public oversight mechanism, as well as of the judiciary,
with a view to ensuring its independence.

The Resolution concludes that as20a result of the efforts by the
Assembly, as well as other parts of the Council of Europe, as well
as the excellent co-operation with the Armenian delegation to the
Assembly over the last 15 months, incremental progress has been made
by the authorities to comply with the demands of the Assembly. The
controversial amendments to the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies,
Rallies and Demonstrations have been repealed, an investigation into
the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 has started, important changes to
problematic provisions in the Criminal Code have been adopted, and
several reforms recommended by the Assembly have been initiated. That
process has now culminated in an amnesty as a result of which most,
albeit not all, persons deprived of their liberty in relation to
the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, will be released. Although the
declaration of amnesty means that the authorities have complied with a
crucial demand of the Assembly and, most importantly, that an important
new page has been turned in the normalization of Armenia’s political
life and resolution of the crisis, these achievements should not be
seen as the end of the process. The Monitoring Committee should fully
support and accompany that process in the framework of the regular
monitoring procedure of the Assembly with respect to Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress