ISLER BEGUIN VISITED POLITICAL PRISONERS
A1+
08:31 pm | April 07, 2009
Politics
"Discussions are very heated regarding the arrests of those seven,"
said today in Yerevan Co-president of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation Committee Marie Anne Isler Beguin.
The delegation led by Begen visited the penitentiary and met with
political prisoners. In fact, Isler Beguin used the term "political
prisoner".
"First, we met with those in the penitentiaries to see what they
have to say about the events because the European Parliament pays
close attention to issues related to human rights. True, those seven
who were arrested as a result of the events of March 1 interest
us. That is why we spoke with the Justice Minister, the Chief of
Police, as well as RA Deputies, but we must also take into account
the views expressed by the Council of Europe which define the concept
"political prisoner"," told "A1+ Isler Beguin.
The European guests also met with NGO representatives today to discuss
the issues concerning political prisoners.
"The Council of Europe and the NGOs give various definitions for the
term political prisoner. But one thing is for sure-when we take a
glance back at the events of March 1, we realize that it is clear that
the EU must extend a hand to the Armenian authorities to implement
the legislative and judicial reforms so that people will see their
issues resolved. I think that in that sense we received positive
remarks by the Chief of Police and our colleagues."
In response to the question of "A1+", Mrs. Isler Beguin also touched
upon the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and Turkey’s EU integration.
"I hope that the blockade will end very soon and the roads will be
open. Turkey is currently in the stage of EU integration. As you
know, Turkey may become a EU member only after it resolves all issues
and corresponds to EU norms. I hope that all countries of the South
Caucasus, including Armenia, become EU members and I hope that that
will happen in the near future," she said.
Do EU standards apply for all countries? How will the Turkish-Armenian
rapprochement reflect upon Turkey’s EU integration process? In response
to that Beguin said:
"The same standards apply for all countries. That is why for some
countries the process takes longer and for some it takes shorter. The
standards don’t include the recognition of the genocide. We can study
the legal and legislative fields, but there is no fixed standard."