Author: Ekmekjian Janet

OVER 100 COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ARMENIA EXPO 2008 REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL FORUM

ARKA
Oct 7, 2008

YEREVAN, October 7. /ARKA/. Some 120 local and overseas companies will
participate in ARMENIA EXPO 2008 eighth annual regional industrial
forum in Yerevan on October 14-17.

Industrial and commercial companies from Armenia, Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Poland, France, China and Germany will
participate in the workshop, reported Ara Stepanyan, director of the
LOGOS Expo Center.

The venue for the forum is Yerevan’s Dinamo Stadium. The organizer
of the event is the LOGOS EXPO center.

"More organizations could enroll in the event if there were enough
space for everyone," Stepanyan said, adding the stadium can roof
about 160 organizations.

This year Karen Demirtchyan Sport and Concert Complex refused to host
the expo. "You should ask the management of the complex why it has
turned down our proposal," Stepanyan was quoted saying.

Previous expos helped about 15 foreign companies to find partners in
Armenia and start their business in the country.

The mission of the forum is to search new markets and partners, as
well as to attract foreign investments by showing Armenia’s economy
to the best advantage. ARMENIA EXPO 2008 includes six exhibitions on
Armenia’s industry, construction, food industry, transport, computers,
printing, publishing and advertising.

Established in 1999, the LOGOS EXPO Ce nter is a leader in organizing
sectoral, industrial, national and international exhibitions and
congresses.

The center annually organizes 10-12 expos in Armenia and abroad. Around
1,000 local and overseas organizations and companies enroll in the
exhibitions.

AFRICANS READY TO SIGN CONVENTION BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS

Joy Online
Tuesday, 7 October 2008, 8:46 GMT
Ghana

A total of 28 African countries have affirmed their commitment to
sign the convention on banning the use of cluster munitions by the
end of the year.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty that
bans cluster bombs and provides assistance to affected communities
to be opened for signature in Oslo, Norway, on December 3, 2008,
the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.

A total of 107 states adopted the Convention in Dublin, Ireland,
in May 2008, a statement issued in Accra by Foundation for Security
and Development in Africa (FOSDA) to the Ghana News Agency on Monday
stated.

The statement said the continent’s position was made at the just-ended
African Regional Conference on Cluster Munitions held in Kampala,
Uganda.

According to the statement, the Africa Regional Conference adopted
the "Kampala Action Plan" outlining a series of strong actions by
civil society organisations across the continent to persuade African
governments to sign the Convention.

The Kampala Conference is the second in a series of regional meetings
arranged to build support for signing the convention banning the use
of cluster munitions.

Cluster bombs or munitions are large weapons which are deployed
from the air and from the ground and release hundreds of smaller
sub-munitions.

Sub-munitions released by airdropped cluster bombs are often called
"bomblets," while those delivered from the ground by artillery or
rockets are usually referred to as "grenades."

Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian
problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread dispersal
means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians
so the humanitarian impact can be extreme, especially when the weapon
is used in or near populated areas.

The Kampala Conference said many sub-munitions used in the past had
failed to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines
killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended.

The Conference said these duds were more lethal than antipersonnel
mines, adding that incidents involving sub-munitions duds were much
more likely to cause death than injury.

Fourteen countries were identified for having used cluster munitions –
Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Israel, Morocco, the Netherlands,
Nigeria, Russia (USSR), Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, UK, US,
and FR Yugoslavia.

According to the FOSDA statement, a total of 34 states are known to
have produced over 210 different types of cluster munitions whilst
more than two dozen countries have been affected by the use of cluster
munitions including Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and Cambodia.

The rest are Chad, Croatia, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia,
Grenada, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia,
Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Uganda, and Vietnam,
as well as Chechnya, Falkland, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Western Sahara.

A total of 42 African governments attended the Kampala Conference,
which discussed the treaty on cluster munitions, of which 28 announced,
most for the first time, their intent to sign the Convention on
Cluster Munitions.

The countries were Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central
African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, DR Congo, The
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Malawi, and Mali.

The rest are Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,
Seychelles; Uganda, Togo and Zambia.

MINISTER NALBANDIAN LEAVING FOR BISHKEK

armradio.am
08.10.2008 11:08

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Edward
Nalbandian, will leave for Bishkek today to participate in the sitting
of the Council of Foreign Ministers of CIS countries to be held in
the capital of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan October 8-9, Press and
Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.

THE PRIME MINISTER VALUES THE WORK OF A REPORTER

Hetq Online
October 06, 2008
Armenia

On September 30th Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan sent a
written statement to Mr. Edik Baghdasaryan, the Editor of "Hetq",
congratulating him and the editorial staff on the occasion of winning
the 2008 Global Shining Light Award at the Global Investigative
Journalism Confrence recently held in Lillehammer, Norway. (One
of the International Investigative Journalism Prizes went to Edik
Baghdasaryan). The Prime Minister underlined the importance of
"exposing existing social, economic and political problems facing us
and negative aspects of our life through a process of unbiased news
reportage and imparting a strong social voice to them, something which
is the mission of any reporter and which results in the resolution
of numerous issues exposed in such a manner."

On behalf on the government the Prime Minister expressed a willingness
"to continue the benificial and productive cooperation with reporters
for the good of the state and society." The PM noted that the best
example of such cooperation to be the measures taken against the
illegal felling of trees in Armenia’s regions and the "Hetq" series
of articles on which such a drive is based.

TURKEY’S CAUCASUS STABILITY AND COOPERATION PLATFORM DEMANDS AN "OPEN GAME"

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2008 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform
demands an "open game", a Russian expert said.

"As a rule, cooperation becomes possible if the sides waive
their national interests to combat a common enemy or if there is
a necessity of diversification of economic relations. Under the
global financial and energy crisis, the Caucasus states could reach
an agreement to resolve the existing conflicts and secure beneficial
economic cooperation. However, there are some irrational historical
factors that hamper normalization of relations," senior lecturer at
Saint-Petersburg State University, deputy editor at the Center of
Oriental Studies, Ph.D. in history Alexander Sotnichenko said in an
interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

Armenia could officially renounce territorial claims against Turkey
and stop the worldwide campaign calling for recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. In response, Turkey could reconsider its position on Nagorno
Karabakh and open the border with Armenia, according to him.

"A similar precedent was in case with Syria. As soon as Damask
recognized territorial integrity of Turkey and stopped laying
claims to the province of Hatay that was annexed to Turkey in 1838,
the relations between the two states considerably improved, not to
mention the economic factor. Presently, Turkey is mediating for the
Syrian-Israeli reconciliation, what is convenient for both sides. I
am hopeful that the Caucasus nations will overcome their historic
hostility and establish fruitful political and economic cooperation,"
Dr. Sotnichenko said.

Full text of the interview

Alexander Sotnichenko:

Caucasus nations most interested in peaceful development of the region
Given the latest changes on the regional political map, the growing
attention to the Caucasus is not surprising. Recognition of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia’s independence, Turkey’s Caucasus Stability
and Cooperation initiative and forthcoming presidential election in
Azerbaijan are among the most topical issues. Senior lecturer at
Saint-Petersburg State University, deputy editor at the Center of
Oriental Studies, Ph.D. in history Alexander Sotnichenko comments on
the situation to PanARMENIAN.Net.

06.10.2008 GMT+04:00 Can we suppose that the U.S. and EU are against
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations?

Surely, no. Both the U.S. and EU hope for successful resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations. Nevertheless, they want it to happen through their
mediation. European countries and organizations, such as NATO, EU
and OSCE want to be direct intermediaries in settling conflicts in
the Caucasus in order to expand their influence throughout the region.

How could you explain the precedent of conflicts in Kosovo, South
Ossetia and Abkhazia? Both the U.S. and Russia insist that other
conflicts, including Nagorno Karabakh and Transnistria, should be
resolved in a different way…

There is no system of international relations which could regulate the
world politics on the basis of universally recognized international
law. Each event is interpreted from the position of strength and
benefit. Since 1991, the ideas of "state sovereignty" and "right
of nations to self-determination" have been interpreted one-sidedly
by the world powers. Both Nagorno Karabakh and Transnistria can be
internationally recognized if their longing for independence will
coincide with strategy of one or several world players. The case
with Nagorno Karabakh is demonstrative: I can’t name a power which
is interested in recognition of this territory.

Does the Caucasus Stability Platform have any future?

Such projects demand an "open game". As a rule, cooperation becomes
possible if the sides waive their national interests to combat a
common enemy or if there is a necessity of diversification of economic
relations. Under the global financial and energy crisis, the Caucasus
states could reach an agreement to resolve the existing conflicts
and secure beneficial economic cooperation. However, there are some
irrational historical factors that hamper normalization of relations.

Armenia could officially renounce territorial claims against Turkey
and stop the worldwide campaign calling for recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. In response, Turkey could reconsider its position on Nagorno
Karabakh and open the border with Armenia.

A similar precedent was in case with Syria. As soon as Damask
recognized territorial integrity of Turkey and stopped laying
claims to the province of Hatay that was annexed to Turkey in 1838,
the relations between the two states considerably improved, not to
mention the economic factor.

Presently, Turkey is mediating for the Syrian-Israeli reconciliation,
what is convenient for both sides. I am hopeful that the Caucasus
nations will overcome their historic hostility and establish fruitful
political and economic cooperation.

What’s your vision for the Caucasus?

All depends on the countries’ willingness to maintain friendly
ties. Moreover, they should stop building their national policy
dependently from the powers beyond the region. The August conflict
demonstrated that Washington’s power is not universal. With
Russia mediating for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution
and with Turkey alleviating tensions between Georgia and Russia,
the Caucasus states will be able to implement their economic and
political strategic for the glory of the region. However, if some of
the countries orient for the West, like Georgia does, new conflicts
are possible. Deployment of NATO troops in Georgia will aggravate
tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Escalation will involve Turkey,
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Georgia may provoke a new war in
an attempt to take back Abkhazia and Ossetia with the help of the
U.S. forces.

Are there parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian and Nagorno
Karabakh conflicts?

I do not see vivid parallels. Religion is the key factor between
Arabs and Jews. Besides, Israel enjoys support of a superpower –
the United States, while majority of the UN member states recognize
Palestine as an independent entity.

Don’t you think that it’s unreasonable to decide the fate of Nagorno
Karabakh people behind their back? Are the borders of the former
soviet republic correct?

I think a decision that will satisfy all parties to conflict
will be the reasonable one. The notion of justice is absent in the
international law, all the more so in present days, when sovereignty
of states is violated so often. Certainly, the borders between the
soviet republics were outlined proceeding from the interests of the
empire. Actually, the USSR decline provided the people living in the
Caucasus with a possibility to decide their fate themselves.

As result of the unfair soviet policy, we received three unrecognized
republics, dozens of thousands of victims of inter-ethnic conflicts,
hundreds of thousands of refugees, destroyed infrastructure and
agriculture. The policy of nationalists, who came to power in Caucasus
states in 1991, yielded deplorable results.

I am confident that territorial and national problems can be resolved
through dialog, multilateral meetings and agreements. Caucasus people
are most interested in a peaceful development of the region. Meanwhile,
the goal of mediators from outside is to strengthen their positions. If
peace is established in the Caucasus, no one will need American bases.

ARMENIA SHOULD MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT THE USA, RUSSIA, TURKEY AND EVEN THE EU PROMISE HER FOR "MODEL BEHAVIOUR"
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.10.2008 GMT+04:00

In fact, Armenia is offered temporary economic dividends, which in
the future will simply bring to a loss of independence, not to mention
the country’s sovereignty.

Baku demonstrates hyper-nervousness in connection with the
latest developments in the region, particularly because of the
consolidation of Turkey’s position after Mikhail Saakashvili’s
unsuccessful blitzkrieg, which "guaranteed" regional reshaping for
all and retirement for Saakashvili himself. Azerbaijani political
analysts and experts began to comment out exactly every word uttered
by Armenia, never doubting accuracy of the received information and
quoting some unauthorized Armenian mass media.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Thus, political analyst Rasim Musabekov states that
"The bright prospects described in the Armenian mass media as regards
the link between Armenia and Turkey to be constituted through the
railway line Gyumri-Igdir, as well as the viewpoint that it can stir
up competition against the railway magistral Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars can
only arouse laughter"… The Kremlin, which despite the declarations
of the RF Foreign Minister still gives preference to Armenia against
Azerbaijan, has a hand in Musabekov’s statement, which, as usual,
comprises more hypothetical than factual elements. However, once
again it is the standpoint of Azeri political analysts, who follow
the example of Vafa Guluzade, whose amazing "revelations" have already
become the talk of the town.

Fuel was added to the fire of Azerbaijani ambitions by the visits of
the US Administration high-ranking officials. In our opinion Baku
doesn’t believe that the arrival of John Negroponte or the regular
travels of Mathew Bryza to Azerbaijan are made for the mere sake
of pleasing her. But for its oil, no one would ever take notice
of Azerbaijan; a position we now face in Armenia. Simply after the
reckless move of Georgia, Armenia was offered a chance to become a
transit country for the energy carriers. Thus, US representatives’
visits to our country are to be expected too, and not only after
the Presidential Elections. However, all this is not so important,
especially when October 15 is just around the corner.

It should be made clear what the USA, Russia, Turkey and even the
EU promise Armenia for her "model behaviour". "Model behaviour"
as such comprises renunciation of strategic basis of Armenian state
system: handover of Nagorno Karabakh, silence in the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide and absence of territorial claims against Turkey. The
latter can be somehow submitted, as Armenia has neither resources nor
manpower to lay claims on at least part of Western Armenia. In this
particular case the matter will concern only compensation, which by
the most conservative estimate will be no less than US$50 billion,
and neither the current nor the future Turkish Government can pay it,
even by installments.

Instead, Armenia is offered participation in such regional projects
as Nabucco, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku
railroad. Besides, there is also the project of Yerevan-Batumi highway,
which, by the way, is of great importance not only to Armenia but to
Georgia as well. However, Leader of the Georgian Opposition Shalva
Natelashvili is sure that the agreement signed between Mikhail
Saakashvili and the Armenian President on building Yerevan-Batumi
highway through Goderdzi pass is nothing else but "a new Roki tunnel
on our soil, where complex, awful separatism is certain to break
out." "And it will not take long," declared Natelashvili, obviously
having in view Javakhk…

In fact, Armenia is offered temporary economic dividends, which in the
future will simply bring to a loss of independence, not to mention the
country’s sovereignty. In a word, we may face the Georgian scenario,
when Turkey’s territorial expansion totally wrecked the country’s
economy. Now Turkey is determined to do the same with Armenia,
with the help of Russia of course. According to Director of Caucasus
Institute Alexander Iskandaryan Baku feels extremely awkward in the
light of Turkish-Russian developing relations. "We shall observe
the future developments. In my opinion, what is going on in the
Armenian-Turkish relations are merely opportunities, which did not
exist before. But these opportunities should still be seized, they
should be regained. Much depends on Yerevan-Ankara interaction and
on the internal processes in Turkey, as a considerable part of the
Turkish political elite and its population do not welcome the onset
of these processes. So, I can conclude that resumption of Baku’s
bellicose rhetoric depends on two main factors: Armenia’s foreign
policy and Turkey’s domestic affairs," Iskandaryan stated.

Thus, Baku and Tbilisi have to be reminded that on the whole
aggressive war is nothing else but an armed robbery in especially
large dimensions, and the punishment for it is extreme penalty.

HULIQ (press release), NC

Posted September 29th, 2008 by admin_huliq

President of Armenia Hosts Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

The presdent of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan stresses the importance of
religion in maintaining peace and moral values in a meeting with the
Catholicos of All Armenians and the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople.

President Serzh Sargsyan today hosted the Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II, Heads of Dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I
who arrived in Armenia on the occasion of blessing the Holy Chrism and
representatives of sister churches of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Greeting the guests, the President of Armenia said: `Muron is of
special symbolic importance or us. Everyone in Armenia believes that
spreading all over the world, the Muron returns to Holy Etchmiadzin `
our religious center and it’s the spiritual magnetism of our people.’

Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of religion in maintaining
peace and moral values, fighting against despair, immorality and
temptations, since there are many temptations in the contemporary
world.

`Having been deprived of statehood for many centuries, the Church has
guided our people to the 21st century. Every official should return
his duty to the church for our country to grow stronger and for our
belief to lead us towards brighter future,’ the President said.

The Patriarch thanked the representatives of sister churches for
participating in the ceremony of blessing of Holy Muron.

On behalf of Pope Benedict 16th, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri wished
peace, prosperity to the Armenian people and noted: `The enthusiasm
with which people participated in the ceremony of blessing the Holy
Muron shows their exceptional devotion to the church.’

By Public Radio of Armenia

GOVERNOR OF ROSTOV REGION IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

National Assembly of RA
02.10.2008
Armenia

On October 2 Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Mr Hovik Abrahamyan received the delegation headed by the
Governor of Rostov Region, Mr Vladimir Chub, comprising Armenian
businessmen. RA Consul General in Rostov Mr Ararat Gomtsyan attended
the meeting.

Welcoming the guests, the NA Speaker Mr Hovik Abrahamyan expressed
satisfaction for hosting them in the parliament and referring to the
Armenian-Russian traditional friendship, assured that as NA Speaker
he would do his best to strengthen those ties. Mr Abrahamyan stressed
that being well familiar with the potential of the Armenians living
in Rostov, he highlighted the role of the Armenian community in
expanding cooperation.

Warmly congratulating Mr Hovik Abrahamyan on being elected the Speaker
of the National Assembly, Governor of Rostov Mr Vladimir Chub expressed
confidence that the economic and cultural ties with Rostov region
will continue developing. According to him, Armenians make a great
contribution to the political and economic life of Rostov.

RA Consul General in Rostov Mr Ararat Gomtsyan also congratulated Mr
Hovik Abrahamyan and noted that when he worked as Deputy Prime Minister
of the Republic of Armenia a consulate of Armenia was opened in
Rostov. He also expressed confidence for deepening further cooperation.

HELP FOR THE CHILD

A1+
[07:10 pm] 02 October, 2008

Thirteen-year old Gagik Babayan suffers from a kidney disease and his
life is in danger. His two kidneys are dysfunctional and if he doesn’t
go through a dialysis, it will be impossible to save him. "His life
is prolonged for a day after each dialysis and I don’t even want to
think about what will happen if he doesn’t take the dialysis for a
day," says Gagik’s mother Mrs. Valya.

Gagik has been going through dialysis at the Arabkir clinic three times
a week for three hours since 2006. Gagik’s mother is afraid of letting
his son have an operation because besides his kidney problems, Gagik
also has problems with urination. Gagik’s mother says that doctors
have suggested taking him to Belgium to cure the disease because, as
they say, the patients who have had an operation are satisfied. The
single mother says that she just needs 10,000 dollars and is asking
for financial aid.

For now, the dialysis is free because Gagik is a minor, but
Mrs. Valya will have to pay for the dialysis if his son goes through
operations. Gagik can’t play outside with his friends because he
always feels weak. "He feels fine after the dialysis, but the next
day the level of nitrogen goes up to 1200 when the standard is 100."

Gagik is currently on a diet because all vitamins are released from
the organism due to this disease. Those who would like to help Gagik
can call +37410 62 63 74 or +37493 94 52 41.

PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LIMITED PROGRESS WITH REGARD TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS 1609 AND 1620

ArmInfo
2008-10-02 17:44:00

ArmInfo. The PACE Monitoring Committee remains concerned about the
limited progress with regard to the implementation of Resolutions
1609 and 1620.

As the Council of Europe Office on Armenia told ArmInfo, Thursday,
the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) has received the report from the Human Rights
Commissioner regarding his visit to Yerevan from 13 to 15 July 2008
and is extremely alarmed about its findings and conclusions that show
that only limited progress has been achieved regarding key demands
of the Assembly.

The committee therefore invited the Human Rights Commissioner to
return to Yerevan and report back to the committee at its meeting in
Paris on 17 December 2008.

While noting the positive steps made regarding establishment of an
independent and credible inquiry, the Monitoring Committee remains
extremely concerned regarding persons deprived of their liberty in
relation to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008. In Resolution 1620
(2008), the Assembly made it clear that "the cases still under
investigation should be closed or promptly brought before the courts";
"a verdict based solely on police testimony without corroborating
evidence cannot be acceptable" and that "the cases under Articles
300 and 225 of the Criminal Code should be dropped unless there is
strong evidence that the accused have personally committed acts of
violence or ordered, abetted or assisted to commit them".

In that respect, the committee took note that, while the investigations
regarding persons in preventive detention have now closed, the cases
against seven, all charged under articles 300 and 225, have not yet
been brought before the courts as a result of the excessive length
of the investigation.

In addition, the committee is deeply concerned that the investigations
regarding the responsibility for the ten deaths on 1 and 2 March have
not yet been, or are not yet on the point of being, concluded. Serious
questions remain regarding the nature of the charges brought against
people arrested in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March, as well
as regarding the court proceedings of several cases, including with
regard to the principle of a fair trial. In addition, and contrary
to Assembly demands, 19 persons have been convicted on the basis of
police testimony only. The committee is therefore seriously concerned
that people may have been detained, and even convicted, based on
political beliefs and non-violent activities, which is unacceptable to
the Assembly. The committee regrets that the Armenian authorities did
not consider the possibility of amnesty, pardons, or any other legal
means available to them, to resolve the situation regarding persons
deprived of their liberty in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March
2008. It strongly urges the authorities to consider such options,
which would result in major progress towards meeting the requirements
of the Assembly. The committee noted the positive steps regarding
the establishment of an independent and credible inquiry as outlined
in the report by the Commissioner. The committee expresses its full
support for the proposals made by the Commissioner. It welcomes the
constructive dialogue between the Armenian authorities and Commissioner
on this issue and hopes that the remaining outstanding issues will
be resolved soon in order for the expert group to start and finalise
its work as soon as possible.

The committee is of the view that Armenia is on a threshold regarding
the implementation of Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008). Now
is the time for the Armenian authorities to show the political will
to resolve this problem. The committee places its full trust in, and
gives its full support for the work of the Human Rights Commissioner
in this respect. Therefore, it would invite the Commissioner to make
a follow-up visit to Yerevan and to report back to the committee at
its meeting on 17 December 2008 on the progress made regarding the
independent and credible inquiry and release of persons deprived of
their liberty in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March. In December,
on the basis of that report, the committee will make its decision on
the actions, and possible sanctions, it will recommend to the plenary
of the Assembly in January 2009.