Chapter on March 1 Events is Closed, Reads PACE Draft Resolution

“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,” said the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday.

 

In a draft resolution based on a report by co-rapporteurs Axel Fischer and John Prescott, the committee welcomed the political will demonstrated by “the authorities and indeed all political forces to resolve this issue in line with Council of Europe standards and recommendations.”

 

According to the committee, the 2008 events and their aftermath have set clear priorities for the democratic development of the country: “The conduct of genuinely democratic parliamentary elections; the creation of a robust democratic and pluralist political environment that has the full trust of the Armenian public; the establishment of an open and pluralist media environment; the reform of the police and the reform of the judiciary with a view to guaranteeing its independence both in law and practice.”

 

The adopted text welcomes the “close and constructive co-operation” between the Assembly and the Armenian authorities, which it considers to be “an example” for the development of co-operation in the framework of the Monitoring Procedure of the Assembly.

 

The text will be debated during the Assembly’s next plenary session in Strasbourg (Oct. 3–7, 2011).