PACE Votes in Favor of Resolution, Considers Chapter on March 1 Case Closed

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Wednesday, during the third day of its autumn session in Strasbourg, discussed and voted on a draft resolution titled “The functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia.”  The resolution was based on a report by co-rapporteurs on Armenia Axel Fischer and John Prescott.

As previously reported, the PACE Monitoring Committee notes in the draft resolution that “The outcome of the latest general amnesty in Armenia, the renewed impetus to investigate the 10 deaths during the March 2008 events, and the resulting start of a constructive dialogue between the opposition and ruling coalition mean that the chapter on the March 2008 events can finally be considered closed [for the Assembly].”

Members of Armenia’s delegation to PACE Zaruhi Postanjyan and Armen Rustamyan suggested this statement be removed from the resolution, but their proposal was not approved.

In a statement published Wednesday, PACE notes that the Assembly’s “monitoring of Armenia’s human rights and democracy obligations, including with respect of the investigation into the ten causalities, will continue unabated.”

Out of 44 delegates voting on this particular resolution, 40 voted in favor, while 3 voted against and 1 abstained. Those who voted against were Azerbaijan’s 3 delegates, while Rustamyan was the delegate who abstained. Among those who voted in favor were Armenian delegates Davit Harutyunyan (of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia) and Naira Zohrabyan (of the Prosperous Armenia party, one of the 3 parties in the governing coalition).

“This is a carte-blanche for Armenia’s authorities. They reached their goal,” said Helsinki Association for Human Rights President, human rights activist Mikael Danielyan, speaking to Epress.am from Strasbourg by phone.