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23.06.2009 14:52
 Ruzan Khachatryan
“Radiolur”
The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe continues in Strasbourg. The issue on Armenia is on the agenda.
Yesterday co-rapporteurs John Prescott and Georges Colombier presented the report on Armenia at the sitting of the Monitoring Committee. The resolution to follow will be considered during tomorrow’s sitting.
The report notes that, as a result of the efforts by the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as other parts of the Council of Europe, and also the excellent co-operation with the Armenian delegation to the Assembly over the last 15 months, incremental progress has been made by the Armenian authorities to comply with the demands of the Assembly: the controversial amendments to the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations have been repealed; an investigation into the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 has started; important changes to problematic provisions in the Criminal Code have been adopted and several reforms recommended by the Assembly have been initiated.
That process has now culminated in an amnesty as a result of which most, albeit not all, persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, will be released. At the same time, the Monitoring Committee notes that the fact finding group to establish the facts with regard to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008 and their circumstances has been disbanded due to insurmountable tensions between its members and considers that the disbandment of the fact-finding group should not be allowed to circumvent the conclusion of an independent and credible inquiry as demanded by the Assembly.
Therefore, although the declaration of amnesty means that the authorities have complied with a crucial demand of the Assembly and, most importantly, that an important new page has been turned in the normalisation of Armenia’s political life and resolution of the crisis, the Monitoring Committee notes that these achievements should not be seen as the end of the process.
The report concludes that the Monitoring Committee should fully support and accompany that process in the framework of the regular monitoring procedure of the Assembly with respect to Armenia.
In the draft resolution the Parliamentary Assembly welcomes the adoption, on 18 March 2009, of the amendments to Articles 225 (mass disorders) and 300 (usurpation of power) of the Criminal Code of Armenia, which, in the opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), generally represent an improvement over previous provisions in that they reduce their scope for overbroad and abusive interpretation. It takes note of the important impact of these changes on the cases of persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 that are still under consideration by the courts. However, it notes that these changes do not have any impact on other cases that are considered of serious concern by the Assembly, such as the cases of persons charged, or convicted, solely on the basis of police testimony, without substantial corroborating evidence.
In the view of the Assembly, the release of all persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 who did not personally commit grave acts of violence would alone provide the necessary basis for the start of the dialogue and reconsolidation that is needed to overcome the political crisis that ensued after the Presidential election of February 2008. In addition, their release would meet the concerns and demands of the Assembly in this respect.
The Assembly therefore welcomes the proposal for a general amnesty submitted by the President of Armenia to the National Assembly on 16 June 2009 and its prompt adoption by the National Assembly on 19 June 2009.
As for the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations, the assembly notes that despite positive changes, requests to organise rallies are still often rejected by the authorities on technical grounds, or that undue restrictions are placed on them. It therefore reiterates its call for the authorities to respect the principle of freedom of assembly in practice, and to implement any recommendations resulting from the project being carried out jointly by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the implementation of the amended law on rallies and demonstrations.
With regard to the reform of the media, the Assembly welcomes the adoption, on 28 April 2009, of amendments to the Law on Radio and Television, which were elaborated in close consultation with the Council of Europe and are aimed at ensuring the independence of the media regulatory bodies in Armenia.
With regard to the election of the Yerevan City Council on 31 May 2009, the Assembly notes the conclusions of the observer mission of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. However, the numerous allegations that fraud and violations were widespread during these elections demonstrate that public trust in the electoral process is still very low in Armenia. This, as well as the shortcomings and violations noted, underscores the fact that electoral reform should now be a priority for the authorities.
The Assembly, reiterating its demands expressed more than a year ago in its Resolution 1609 urges the Armenian authorities to implement without delay further reforms of the police, including the establishment of a proper public oversight mechanism, as well as of the judiciary, with a view to ensuring its independence.
The Resolution concludes that as a result of the efforts by the Assembly, as well as other parts of the Council of Europe, as well as the excellent co-operation with the Armenian delegation to the Assembly over the last 15 months, incremental progress has been made by the authorities to comply with the demands of the Assembly. The controversial amendments to the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations have been repealed, an investigation into the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 has started, important changes to problematic provisions in the Criminal Code have been adopted, and several reforms recommended by the Assembly have been initiated. That process has now culminated in an amnesty as a result of which most, albeit not all, persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, will be released. Although the declaration of amnesty means that the authorities have complied with a crucial demand of the Assembly and, most importantly, that an important new page has been turned in the normalization of Armenia’s political life and resolution of the crisis, these achievements should not be seen as the end of the process. The Monitoring Committee should fully support and accompany that process in the framework of the regular monitoring procedure of the Assembly with respect to Armenia.
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