PACE Monitoring Committee Urges All Armenian Political Forces TO Refrain From Increasing Tensions
19.03.2008,
22:43
PACE Monitoring Committee urges all Armenian political forces to accept the decision of the RA Constitutional Court recognizing the results of the February 19 presidential elections as valid, the PACE Communiqué placed in the PACE website reads.
YEREVAN, March 19. /ARKA/. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Monitoring Committee urges all Armenian political forces to accept the decision of the RA Constitutional Court recognizing the results of the February 19 presidential elections as valid, the PACE Communiqué placed in the PACE website reads. The Committee met in Paris on February 18 to discuss the situation in Armenia and consider the proposals of its envoy John Prescott.
From February 20 to March 1, Armenia’s opposition political forces led by ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan were holding rallies in Liberty Square in Yerevan protesting against the results of February 19 presidential elections attributing victory to Prime Minister Serge Sargssyan.
As a result of public unrest and clashes between the rally participants and the police, 131 people were injured, and eight were killed. On March 1, RA President Robert Kocharyan issued a decree on imposing a twenty-day state of emergency in the capital.
The Constitutional Court of Armenia turned down the petition of Armenian opposition to invalidate the voting results and left unchanged the February 24 decision of the RA Central Electoral Commission, according to which Serge Sargssyan, leader of the Republican Party of Armenia and prime minister is Armenia’s new president elect.
The committee was informed by its envoy John Prescott of the main conclusions arising from his fact-finding mission to Yerevan, on 7 and 8 March 2008, and called upon all sides to accept Mr Prescott’s proposals aimed at resolving the current crisis.
The Committee demands establishing an independent inquiry into the circumstances that led to the events on 1 March 2008, initiating a dialogue between all political forces to reform the electoral framework with a view to regaining public trust in the conduct and outcome of elections, to reform the political system with a view to providing a proper place for the opposition in the decision-making process and governance of the country.
The Monitoring Committee also expressed its deep concern about the arrest of more than one hundred persons in Armenia and the conditions in which such arrests took place. The Committee urged lifting the state of emergency and restoring individual Human rights and freedoms, as well as releasing all jailed activists who have not committed violent crimes.
In the opinion of the committee, the arrest of large numbers of opposition leaders and of three Members of Parliament is inevitably perceived as a crack-down on the opposition by the authorities and will do nothing to ease the tensions in Armenia. The committee called upon all sides to refrain from any action that would increase the tensions and to commit themselves to a genuine dialogue to resolve the current crisis.
The Monitoring Committee noted that the dialogue between all political forces could be initiated in the form of round tables under the aegis of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. --0--
From February 20 to March 1, Armenia’s opposition political forces led by ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan were holding rallies in Liberty Square in Yerevan protesting against the results of February 19 presidential elections attributing victory to Prime Minister Serge Sargssyan.
As a result of public unrest and clashes between the rally participants and the police, 131 people were injured, and eight were killed. On March 1, RA President Robert Kocharyan issued a decree on imposing a twenty-day state of emergency in the capital.
The Constitutional Court of Armenia turned down the petition of Armenian opposition to invalidate the voting results and left unchanged the February 24 decision of the RA Central Electoral Commission, according to which Serge Sargssyan, leader of the Republican Party of Armenia and prime minister is Armenia’s new president elect.
The committee was informed by its envoy John Prescott of the main conclusions arising from his fact-finding mission to Yerevan, on 7 and 8 March 2008, and called upon all sides to accept Mr Prescott’s proposals aimed at resolving the current crisis.
The Committee demands establishing an independent inquiry into the circumstances that led to the events on 1 March 2008, initiating a dialogue between all political forces to reform the electoral framework with a view to regaining public trust in the conduct and outcome of elections, to reform the political system with a view to providing a proper place for the opposition in the decision-making process and governance of the country.
The Monitoring Committee also expressed its deep concern about the arrest of more than one hundred persons in Armenia and the conditions in which such arrests took place. The Committee urged lifting the state of emergency and restoring individual Human rights and freedoms, as well as releasing all jailed activists who have not committed violent crimes.
In the opinion of the committee, the arrest of large numbers of opposition leaders and of three Members of Parliament is inevitably perceived as a crack-down on the opposition by the authorities and will do nothing to ease the tensions in Armenia. The committee called upon all sides to refrain from any action that would increase the tensions and to commit themselves to a genuine dialogue to resolve the current crisis.
The Monitoring Committee noted that the dialogue between all political forces could be initiated in the form of round tables under the aegis of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. --0--
