Epress.am News from Armenia
The OSCE Permanent Council issued a statement on Thursday in which it congratulated Armenia, and Yerevan, in permitting the opposition to hold a rally in Liberty Square for the first time since the mass unrest that followed disputed presidential elections in early 2008.
“The EU takes note of recent positive political developments in Armenia. The EU has on a number of occasions raised concerns about freedom of assembly in the country. We therefore welcome the fact that, for the first time in many years, the political opposition was granted permission to hold a rally in Liberty Square on 28 April. We hope that future requests to hold rallies will be handled in the same way. This rally passed off in an orderly manner due, it seems, to the effective cooperation between law enforcement bodies and opposition groups. With Armenia due to begin a new cycle of elections in 2012, we attach particular importance to the respect for freedom of assembly,” read the statement.
The statement also welcomed Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s Apr. 20 call for a more meticulous investigation into the violent events of March 2008:
“In that same context, we welcome the fact that in recent weeks three opposition activists, Harutyun Urutyan, Roman Mnatsakanyan and Aram Bareghamyan, sentenced and imprisoned in the aftermath of those events, have been released on parole. We call on the Armenian authorities to release all the activists that remain in detention soon. The EU believes that a thorough investigation of the violent events of March 2008 and the release of all those in custody in relation to those events will help Armenia to truly move on.”