Families of March 1st Victims Request Meeting with PACE Co-Rapporteurs
2010/02/27 | 18:06

society

Dear members of the Permanent Monitoring Committee of PACE,

In 2001, our country became amember of the Council of Europe. In 2002
it joined the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms.

During all this time, PACE has adopted numerous resolutions on
Armenia. However, they have not contributed to the improvement of
effective human rights protection in the country.

Moreover, those resolutions and PACE structures including the
Monitoring Committee, have not essentially contributed to the
development of newly established democratic institutions in Armenia
and to democracy in general.

Proof of the above are the fraudulent and falsified presidential
elections of 2008 and the illegal engagement of the army for
intimidating and controlling peaceful protesters. This resulted in the
death of 10 people, numerous others being wounded, hundreds of
political dissidents arrested and the detention several dozen others.

After the tragic events of March 1-2, 2008, PACE has adopted 4
resolutions, among which #1609 has probably been the most impartial in
recording the existing situation, and which mentions compulsory steps
for the Armenian authorities to implement.

However, during these two years PACE and its Monitoring Committee in
fact did not make any practical steps for bringing to the life
resolution #1609, as well as the three following three following
resolutions.

Nor did PACE rely to its authority and leverages of influence to
contribute to comprehensive reveal and punishment of those guilty for
March 1-2 events. Regrettably, PACE neglected publicly known facts. We
are surprised and confused about application of double standards by
PACE.

We, the families of the victims of March 1-2, 2008 events, are
indignant and protest the behavior of PACE Co-rapporteurs George
Colombier and John Prescott. Particularly, it is unclear and
unacceptable for us their announcement made on February 2, 2010 and
posted on the official website of the CoE.

What does it mean `The Armenian authorities need 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,’? Or what does it mean that `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,’? During these two years time, the justice system and
authorities of Armenia have been unable to find murderers of our
children, and now, should we wait for reforms …?

PACE officials, especially Mr. Prescott and Mr. Colombier, are well
aware that the Armenian authorities are deliberately not revealing
those responsible for tragic events of March 1-2, 2008.

In the document prepared by co-rapporteurs (AS/Mon (2009) 38), article
41, they are pointing out that there is an impression that Armenia’s
ad hoc parliamentary committee censors itself and tries by all means
to avoid openly discrediting the official version of the authorities,
which is regrettable and casts doubt over the whole investigation.

Thus, Mr. Prescott and Mr. Colombier contradict themselves, on one
hand by announcing that investigation of the ad hoc parliamentary
committee has not been fair and the murders have not been revealed up
to day, and on the other hand, by demanding a reform schedule from
another parliamentary committee and the Chairman of the National
Assembly and expecting that such a process can be successful.

Judicial reform has been underway in Armenia since 1998. Overall,
Armenian legislation is in line with CoE standards. In order to have
the guilty for March 1-2 crimes revealed, elections not falsified,
freedom of speech not limited and political dissents not persecuted,
it is also necessary that high rank officials of PACE express timely,
impartial and adequate assessments that Armenian authorities are
failing to fulfill their
obligations to the CoE.

The crimes of March 1-2 happened not because of bad legislation or
slow reforms, but among others, as a consequence of actual inaction of
PACE and its `one step forward’ assessments continuously given to
incumbent authorities about their fulfillment of obligations to the
CoE.

Armenia’s obligations towards the Council of Europe were last
discussed at the summer session of 2009. Afterwards, due to inactivity
and indifference of the co-rapporteurs, Armenian authorities started
to claim publicly, that the March 1 page is closed…

We have an impression that among those who back this statement aiming
to cover murders of our children, are Mr. Prescott and Mr. Colombier,
who did not participate in the December 17, 2008 Session of the
Monitoring Committee and therefore, the document they had prepared was
never presented and discussed at this session.

Later, during discussions at the January 27-28, 2010 session of the
Monitoring Committee, the February 2 statement appeared, regarding
reform schedule and political prisoner Nikol Pashinyan.

And where did demands to the Armenian government disappear? I.e. why
is a proper investigation not carried out to reveal crimes of March
1-2? Why haven’t those guilty for illegally using armed forces for the
oppression of the peaceful demonstration been punished? One of those
killed, Tigran Abgaryan, was doing his military service.

Why hasn’t a comprehensive investigation to reveal how and with whose
order had he appeared in the central streets of Yerevan been carried
out – who ordered him, an ordinary soldier, to be transferred from
his military unit to the centre of the capital?

There are numerous video records of how Armenian armed forces were
being transported to the central streets of Yerevan before March 1 and
after the emergency situation.

There is also the executive order of then president Robert Kocharyan
concerning the emergency situation, where he mentions that the
Ministry of Defense is among the implementers and servers of the
emergency situation.

`We have to use the opportunity of the army…’ President Kocharyan said
these words on March 1, 2008, during his midnight meeting with
journalists… Isn’t PACE interested in these facts? If so, why are the
PACE Co-rapporteurs neglecting them?

With the knowledge of PACE, the fact finding group was closed, while
the latter put some light over true circumstances of March 1-2 murders
and events.

With the knowledge of PACE, the ARF representative Armen Roostamyan
was involved in the Monitoring Committee as an opposition deputy,
while his party, being part of the government, actually shares the
responsibility for March 1-2 tragic events and for building an
authoritarian regime in our country.

During the last 10 years, the ARF has been part of the government and
has supported former president Kocharyan. Only recently did this party
claim itself an opposition and officially announced that they are
withdrawing from the government coalition because of disagreement in
foreign policy issues.

We are aware that on March 12, 2010 during the meeting session of
Permanent Committee in Paris the period of authorization of the
Co-rapporteurs is going to be discussed. Thus, we urge you to include
in your discussions the issues raised in this appeal.

We want to believe that in its actions and assessments PACE will
indeed be the conscience of democratic Europe.

Dear members of PACE Monitoring Committee,

Taking into account the above mentioned and wishing to present our
demands and comments in more details, we would appreciate a meeting
with co-rapporteurs for Armenia, George Colombier and John Prescott,
during their next visit to Armenia.

We believe that this meeting is absolutely necessary and we strongly
insist on it. We assume, that at least in this issue, the Monitoring
Committee should be interested as well.

Sincerely,
Families of victims of March 1-2, 2008 criminal events