PACE CO-RAPPORTEURS: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES NEED TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDED REFORMS WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY
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02.02.2010 18:46
PACE co-rapporteurs: Armenian authorities need to implement recommended
reforms without further delay
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls upon the
Armenian authorities to implement the reforms recommended by the ad
hoc Committee of the National Assembly of Armenia on the events of 1
and 2 March 2008, without further delay, PACE official statement says.
"The reforms recommended by the ad hoc Committee, in combination
with those contained in the relevant PACE resolutions, if implemented
in good faith, could comprehensively address the circumstances that
led to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008," said the co-rapporteurs on
Armenia John Prescott (from UK) and George Colombier (from France).
They stressed that these recommendations therefore needed to be
implemented without further delay, especially those related to the
reform of the police – including the establishment of an independent
oversight and complaints body – and the long overdue reform of the
electoral code. The co-rapporteurs announced that they would send a
letter to the Armenian Parliament asking it to provide the Monitoring
Committee, before its meeting on 17 March 2010 in Paris, with a clear
timetable for these reforms.
"On the basis of the discussions in the Monitoring Committee we
will then visit Yerevan this spring to discuss the establishment
of a clear roadmap for the implementation of these reforms," the
co-rapporteurs said.
In addition to the roadmap, the co-rapporteurs also intend to raise
the issue of the sentencing of Nikol Pashinian as well as other cases
where they have sought clarification from the authorities.
"A number of issues following the events of 1 and 2 March still need
to be clarified and addressed", the co-rapporteurs said, stressing
the continuing importance and need for the monitoring of political
developments by the Assembly and other relevant bodies of the Council
of Europe.
In mid January Pashinian was sentenced to seven years in prison for
riotous, although according to this article, the prosecution demanded
six years’ imprisonment.