PACE refrains from depriving Armenia of voting rights
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) decided not to suspend the voting rights of the Armenian
delegation to the Assembly at this stage.
The decision on the issue, which had been raised by the assembly co-rapporteurs in December, came at the end of Tuesday`s winter session debate.
The PACE said it had taken into account "the recent initiatives of the Armenian authorities as an indication of their readiness to address the demands made by PACE" in two resolutions of the Assembly adopted in 2008.
The PACE said it remains "dissatisfied and seriously concerned" by the situation of persons jailed during the dispersal of the March 1-2, 2008 mass protests that followed Armenia`s February 19 presidential election.
Nevertheless, it believes that the number of pardons granted by President Sarkisian (28 to date), the National Assembly`s recent initiative to revise two articles of Armenia`s Criminal Code in accordance with Council of Europe standards within no more than two months and the positive steps taken towards the establishment of an independent, transparent and credible inquiry, indicate that the Armenian authorities are prepared to address the Assembly`s demands.
The PACE called on the Armenian authorities to continue releasing the detainees by using other legal means, including amnesties or the dropping of charges. PACE also invited its Monitoring Committee to examine, before the April part-session, the progress achieved by the Armenian authorities with regard to the implementation of Tuesday`s resolution – as well as the previous ones – and to propose any further action to be taken by the Assembly as required by the situation.
Armenia`s opposition had refused to recognize the results of the election won by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, charging vote rigging and taking to the streets. 28 people were reportedly killed and hundreds were injured during the demonstrations.*
The decision on the issue, which had been raised by the assembly co-rapporteurs in December, came at the end of Tuesday`s winter session debate.
The PACE said it had taken into account "the recent initiatives of the Armenian authorities as an indication of their readiness to address the demands made by PACE" in two resolutions of the Assembly adopted in 2008.
The PACE said it remains "dissatisfied and seriously concerned" by the situation of persons jailed during the dispersal of the March 1-2, 2008 mass protests that followed Armenia`s February 19 presidential election.
Nevertheless, it believes that the number of pardons granted by President Sarkisian (28 to date), the National Assembly`s recent initiative to revise two articles of Armenia`s Criminal Code in accordance with Council of Europe standards within no more than two months and the positive steps taken towards the establishment of an independent, transparent and credible inquiry, indicate that the Armenian authorities are prepared to address the Assembly`s demands.
The PACE called on the Armenian authorities to continue releasing the detainees by using other legal means, including amnesties or the dropping of charges. PACE also invited its Monitoring Committee to examine, before the April part-session, the progress achieved by the Armenian authorities with regard to the implementation of Tuesday`s resolution – as well as the previous ones – and to propose any further action to be taken by the Assembly as required by the situation.
Armenia`s opposition had refused to recognize the results of the election won by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, charging vote rigging and taking to the streets. 28 people were reportedly killed and hundreds were injured during the demonstrations.*
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