TOP MPS DIVIDED OVER COUNCIL OF EUROPE CRITICISM
Irina Hovannisian
le/1990708.html
22.03.2010
Senior pro-government lawmakers in Yerevan gave on Monday diametrically
opposite assessments of the latest Council of Europe report criticizing
the Armenian authorities’ investigation into the 2008 post-election
violence.
In the extensive report released on Friday, the council’s Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) expressed concern about the reported
ill-treatment of dozens of opposition members arrested following the
February 2008 presidential election. It said the authorities must
finally make it clear to security bodies that the illegal practice is
"will be dealt with severely in the form of criminal prosecution."
The report also called for a "public inquiry" into the March 2008
clashes in Yerevan between opposition supporters and security forces
which left ten people dead. It is based on the findings of a CPT team
that visited Armenia in the aftermath of the unrest.
David Harutiunian, chairman of the Armenian parliament committee
on legal affairs, said the authorities should take the criticism
seriously and come up with an "plan of immediate actions" to address
it. "Naturally, reading CPT reports is not always pleasant because
they are usually very critical," he told RFE/RL. "Nevertheless, I
believe it is very important to publish them because that restrains
both the authorities and the public."
Asked whether he agrees with the report’s conclusions, the former
justice minister said: "Not only do I agree but also think that
we will probably to turn it into a legal requirement by means of
legislative changes."
Harutiunian, who also heads the Armenian delegation at the Council of
Europe Parliamentary Delegation (PACE), reacted similarly to another
report that was released by an OSCE watchdog earlier this month. The
report criticized the trials of jailed oppositionists.
By contrast, deputy parliament speaker Samvel Nikoyan, rejected the
CPT criticism as politically motivated and unfounded. He specifically
faulted the Council of Europe watchdog for calling into question the
credibility of the official criminal investigation into the clashes.
"Just because of such an evaluation, you can put aside that document,"
Nikoyan told RFE/RL. "They make a political evaluation of legal
matters for some reasons … I wouldn’t say they used such phrases
out of friendly motives."
Nikoyan insisted that there were only "isolated cases" of police
brutality during the probe and that an hoc commission of the Armenian
parliament headed by himself has already conducted an independent
inquiry into the events of March 2008. The commission essentially
justified the use of deadly force against opposition protesters,
provoking strong criticism from the Armenian opposition.