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  • PACE Preliminary Report on Armenia

    A1 Plus | 13:53:34 | 28-04-2004 | Politics |

    PACE PRELIMINARY REPORT ON ARMENIA

    Here we represent PACE preliminary report on Armenia, which will be
    discussed this evening.

    Honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia

    Report

    Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States
    of the Council of Europe

    Rapporteurs: Mr René André, France, Group of the European People's Party,
    and Mr Jerzy Jaskiernia, Poland, Socialist Group

    Summary

    Since the end of March 2004, a series of protests were organised by the
    opposition forces in Armenia, calling for the holding of a "referendum of
    confidence" in President Kocharian. The demonstrations, while announced,
    have not been authorised by the authorities who threatened their organisers
    with criminal prosecution. In the early morning of 13 April, the security
    forces violently dispersed some 2000-3000 protesters who were attempting to
    march towards the presidential palace, calling for President Kocharian's
    resignation. The police reportedly used truncheons, water cannons and tear
    gas, causing dozens of injuries.

    The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the actions of the Armenian
    authorities are contrary to the letter and the spirit of the recommendations
    formulated in its Resolution 1361 (2004) adopted last January and it demands
    Armenia to urgently comply with its obligations and commitments.

    The Assembly calls upon the authorities and the opposition to refrain from
    any action which may lead to further violence and to engage in a dialogue
    without preconditions, with a view to resolving the present conflict in
    accordance with Council of Europe standards and European democratic
    practice.

    I. Draft resolution

    1. Since the end of March 2004, a series of protests were organised by the
    opposition forces in Armenia, calling for the holding of a "referendum of
    confidence" in President Kocharian. The possibility of such a referendum was
    first mentioned by the Armenian Constitutional Court following the
    presidential elections in February and March last year. The Constitutional
    Court has since reversed its decision and the authorities qualify the
    opposition demands and protests as an attempt to seize power by force.

    2. The demonstrations, while announced, have not been authorised by the
    authorities who threatened their organisers with criminal prosecution.
    Following the demonstrations on 5 April, the prosecutor general opened
    criminal investigations against several members of the opposition and many
    more were arrested. On the same occasion, several journalists were beaten up
    by unknown persons while the police was standing by taking no action.

    3. New demonstrations took place on 9, 10 and 12 April in Yerevan. In the
    early morning of 13 April, the security forces violently dispersed some
    2000-3000 protesters who were attempting to march towards the presidential
    palace, calling for President Kocharian's resignation. The police reportedly
    used truncheons, water cannons and tear gas, causing dozens of injuries. A
    number of protesters were arrested, including members of parliament, some of
    whom are members of the Assembly, and some were allegedly mistreated during
    their custody by the police. The security forces also assaulted and arrested
    several journalists who were covering the opposition rally.

    4. The tensions in Armenia continue to run high; new protests are planned
    for the week of 26 April. For the time being, there seems to be little room
    for dialogue between the authorities and the opposition, even if some offers
    have been made and some members of the ruling majority - and notably the
    Speaker of the Armenian parliament - have begun criticising the heavy-handed
    crackdown on demonstrators.

    5. With regard to the conduct of the authorities, the Parliamentary Assembly
    recalls that its actions are contrary to the letter and the spirit of the
    recommendations formulated in its Resolution 1361 (2004) adopted last
    January. It is particularly concerned with the fact that:

    i. massive arrests, including on the basis of the Administrative Code,
    ignored the demand to immediately end the practice of administrative
    detention and change the Administrative Code used as a legal basis for this
    practice;

    ii. the authorities refused to authorise opposition rallies for reasons not
    permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights. Moreover the new
    draft law on the procedure of conducting gatherings, meetings, rallies and
    demonstrations, currently in the parliamentary procedure, was evaluated as
    excessively restrictive by experts of the Venice Commission;

    iii. persons detained during the recent events were reportedly subjected to
    ill-treatment by police and security forces, in spite of Assembly's demands
    to take resolute and more active steps to remedy misconduct by law
    enforcement officials; iv. freedom of expression continues to be seriously
    curtailed and several acts of violence against journalists, which took place
    during the recent events, were carried out or were allowed to happen by the
    police and security forces.

    6. With regard to the conduct of the opposition, the Assembly stresses that
    they should do their utmost to avoid any future violence.

    7. As to their demands for the holding of a "referendum of confidence" and
    the resignation of President Kocharian, the Assembly stresses that:

    i. both the presidential, and the parliamentary elections which followed in
    May last year were severely criticised by the international community,
    including by the Assembly delegations. The elections fell short of the
    international standards in key areas and the irregularities observed notably
    included biased media coverage, detention of opposition proxies and campaign
    staff, falsification of results, intimidation of observers as well as
    generally inadequate performance of the elections administration.

    ii. although the fraud, in spite of its magnitude, did not decisively change
    the outcome of the elections nor invalidate their final results, in its
    report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia, adopted
    in January 2004 (Resolution 1361), the Assembly expressed profound
    disappointment at the conduct of the elections and called for a thorough
    investigation into electoral fraud and an end to the judicial impunity for
    those responsible for it.

    8. Consequently, the Assembly considers that the opposition, while entitled
    to fully enjoy their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, should
    refrain from attempts to use street demonstrations to reverse the results of
    last year's elections, which have been, in spite of the irregularities,
    validated by relevant national and international bodies.

    9. The Assembly calls upon the Armenian authorities to:

    i. allow peaceful demonstrations and refrain from any further action which
    would legally, or in practice, lead to unjustified restrictions to the
    freedom of assembly guaranteed by the European Convention on human rights;

    ii. immediately investigate - in a transparent and credible manner - the
    incidents and human rights abuses reported during the recent events,
    including assaults of journalists and human rights activists, and inform the
    Assembly of their findings and possible legal actions against persons
    responsible;

    iii. immediately release the persons detained for their participation in the
    demonstrations and immediately end the practice of administrative detention
    and amend the Administrative Code to this effect;

    iv. create fair conditions for the normal functioning of the media, notably
    as regards the issuing of broadcasting licences to television companies,
    particularly to television channel A1+;

    v. send a written report to the Assembly, before the opening of the June
    2004 part-session, on the steps it has taken with regard to sub-paragraphs
    9.i , ii, iii and iv.

    10. The Assembly calls upon the authorities and the opposition to refrain
    from any action which may lead to further violence and to engage in a
    dialogue without preconditions, with a view to resolving the present
    conflict in accordance with Council of Europe standards and European
    democratic practice.

    11. The Assembly believes that the recent events have added a measure of
    urgency to its demands for Armenia's full and unconditional compliance with
    their obligations and commitments. It resolves to continue to closely
    monitor the situation in Armenia and, if no progress with regard to
    sub-paragraphs 9.i, ii, iii and iv is made by the opening of the June 2004
    part-session, to reconsider the credentials of the Armenian delegation, in
    accordance with Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure.

    II. Explanatory memorandum by the co-rapporteurs

    1. Introduction

    Since the end of March, opposition forces in Armenia decided to jointly
    organise mass protests to force a "referendum of confidence" in President
    Kocharian. The possibility of such a referendum was first mentioned by the
    Armenian Constitutional Court following the presidential elections in
    February and March last year, which were strongly criticised by the
    international community. The opposition intentions are likely to have been
    inspired by last year's events in the neighbouring Georgia, where massive
    protests led to the resignation of President Shevardnadze and early
    presidential and parliamentary elections.

    The Armenian authorities reacted to the opposition call for protests with a
    campaign of political intimidation and administrative and judicial
    harassment. Once the protests started, the reaction was even more ruthless.
    Demonstrations were violently dispersed, journalists were beaten up, a large
    number of opposition supporters were arrested and premises of the opposition
    parties were raided by the police.

    The Head of the OSCE presence in Yerevan blamed both the authorities and the
    opposition for violent incidents. Most media and NGO reports put the blame
    squarely on the government.

    New opposition rallies were announced for the week of 26 April. The tensions
    continue, there seems to be little room for dialogue right now.

    2. Background to the recent events

    The 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections

    Armenia conducted two important elections last year - President Kocharian
    was reelected president in March and the new parliament was elected in the
    elections which took place in May.

    Both elections were severely criticised by the international community,
    including by the Assembly delegations. The elections fell short of
    international standards in key areas, and the irregularities observed
    included notably biased media coverage, detention of opposition proxies and
    campaign staff, falsification of results, intimidation of observers as well
    as generally inadequate performance of the elections administration.

    The Assembly's monitoring report, adopted in January 2004 (Resolution 1361),
    expressed profound disappointment with the conduct of the elections. The
    Assembly also called for a thorough investigation into electoral fraud an
    end to the judicial impunity for those responsible for it.

    However, in their explanatory memorandum, the rapporteurs concurred with the
    findings of the OSCE observation mission that the fraud, in spite of its
    magnitude, did not decisively change the outcome of the elections nor
    invalidate their final results.

    It was in this spirit that the Assembly ratified the credentials of the
    Armenian delegation after the May parliamentary elections. However, the
    acceptance of the results should not be understood by Yerevan as the
    readiness to condone and tolerate this kind of conduct in the future. They
    were given the benefit of the doubt, but they should be very careful not to
    gamble with the trust of the international community. The recent events
    regrettably indicate that the authorities have not fully understood this
    message. "Referendum of confidence"

    After several presidential candidates from the opposition contested the
    results of the Presidential elections in February and March last year, the
    Armenian Constitutional Court ruled that their complaints were well-founded
    but did not invalidate the results. Instead, it proposed the holding of a
    "referendum of confidence" in President Kocharian.

    This decision, delivered on 16 April, was severely criticised by President
    Kocharian and his supporters, as a challenge to the President's legitimacy.
    The Constitutional Court has since reversed its position and stated, on 26
    January 2004, that its original decision had been misunderstood and
    manipulated. In spite of this decision of the Constitutional Court, the
    holding of a "referendum of confidence" constitutes the main demand of the
    present opposition campaign of protests.

    3. Chronology of recent events[1]

    - 17 March 2004
    President Kocharian dismissed Aram Tamazian, Prosecutor-General for the past
    three years. Mr Kocharian stated that the role and prestige of the Office of
    the Prosecutor-General had declined under Mr Tamazian's leadership,
    appointed in his place was Aghvan Hovsepian, Deputy Prosecutor-General. He
    had served as Prosecutor-General in 1998 and 1999. Four Yerevan procesutors
    were dismissed on 22 March.

    - 23 March
    The European Union's special envoy for the southern Caucasus, Heike
    Talvitie, met the Minister for Foreign Affairs and two Deputy Speakers of
    Parliament. Ms Talvitie referred to the controversial draft legislation
    currently before Parliament which would restrict freedom of assembly. Tigran
    Torosian, a "parliamentary official", gave an assurance that this bill was
    in conformity with European principles and standards, and that it was
    currently under examination by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.

    - 26 March
    In a joint communique to Parliament, the three political parties of the
    governing coalition issued a warning about attempts to break constitutional
    law, and called the responsible authorities to maintain order with
    determination and firmness.

    - 28 March
    A major gathering organised by the Artarutiun opposition bloc in Giumri,
    Armenia's second city, degenerated into fighting between those who back
    Artarutiun and supporters of President Kocharian. Four members of Artarutiun
    were arrested for assaulting a police officer. The chairperson of
    Artarutiun, Stepan Demirchian, had told participants (numbering around 1
    000): "we are witnessing the death throes" of the Kocharian regime, and "the
    Armenian people cannot tolerate the rule of such thugs".

    - 29 March
    The Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, which represents the most
    influential business persons, issued a statement warning that political
    unrest would have negative effects on the Armenian economy and that such a
    situation would jeopardise the chances of finding a solution to the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on terms favourable to Armenia.

    - 30 March
    President Kocharian's press service stated that the opposition's threats
    were baseless and aggressive, and that the organisation of unauthorised
    public meetings was a "criminal offence", and would be dealt with as such.
    The chairperson of the Armenian Helsinki Association, Mikael Danielian, was
    attacked and beaten up by four unknown men as he left his home. He had
    constantly expressed criticism of the Armenian authorities for violations of
    human rights.

    The prosecutor general opened a criminal case against members of the
    opposition Justice Alliance under Article 301 (public calls for seizure of
    power by force) and 318/2 (publicly insulting representatives of
    government).
    - 31 March

    The authorities warned the opposition leaders that they might well be
    arrested during an investigation of their plans to "seize power by violence
    and change the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia". The
    Artarutiun opposition bloc and the National Unity Party planned to organise
    demonstrations in April calling for the resignation of President Kocharian,
    whose re-election in 2003 they challenged. The leader of Artarutiun, Stepan
    Demirchian, emphasised that the opposition was not seeking violence, but
    merely wished to restore constitutional order.

    - 1 April
    At a meeting with European ambassadors, President Kocharian said that the
    situation was tense in Armenia. He declared that stability was his priority,
    and he rejected accusations that his government had threatened to arrest
    opposition leaders.

    The Armenian Revolutionary Federation gave its support to the governing
    coalition against the opposition, while the Republican Party and Orinats
    Yerkir said that arrests among the opposition would be unjustified.

    - 5 April
    The National Unity Party organised a rally in Yerevan that drew an estimated
    300 participants. Fights broke out and journalists trying to film the
    clashes were beaten up while police was standing by taking no action. The
    leaders of the two main opposition parties, Stepan Demirchian and Artashes
    Geghamian, announced that they would be organising demonstrations from 9
    April onwards in order to force the government to resign, despite a number
    of arrests of opposition supporters made by the authorities on 4 April.

    - 6 April
    The police confirmed that 48 opposition activists and supporters had been
    arrested following an unauthorised demonstration on 4 or 5 April. It was
    reported that, during this demonstration, some journalists had been attacked
    by unknown persons, without the police intervening. The police chief
    declared that the law enforcement agencies had been told to intervene only
    in extreme cases.

    The leaders of the three main opposition parties, Artashes Geghamian, Aram
    Sargsian and Stepan Demirchian, during new demonstrations in Yerevan on 9
    and 10 April, decided to call for President Kocharian's resignation, on the
    grounds that his re-election had been fraudulent and therefore unlawful.
    They issued an ultimatum to the authorities, giving them until midday on 12
    April to organise a referendum of confidence in Mr Kocharian.

    - 9, 10 and 12 April
    The organisers estimate that 30,000 people (60 of whom were arrested) took
    part in the 9 April demonstrations, with 10,000 taking part on 10 April and
    15,000 on 12 April.

    - 13 April
    At 2 am on 13 April, special police equipped with truncheons, water cannons
    and tear gas grenades attacked between 2,000 and 3,000 demonstrators who
    were attempting to march towards the presidential palace to call for the
    resignation of the President, causing dozens of injuries. Security forces
    brutally attacked several journalists reporting on the opposition rally.

    The police then moved on to the headquarters of the National Accord Party,
    the People's Party of Armenia and Hanrapetitiun, destroying their offices
    and arresting some members of these parties, including three MPs. Artashes
    Geghamian and Aram Sargsian called for new demonstrations. President
    Kocharian met the three leaders of the governing coalition parties and
    expressed condemnation of the previous days' opposition demonstrations and
    support for the police action. He added that the authorities would use all
    lawful means of preventing any more extremist demonstrations

    Vahan Hovannisian (a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation,
    Dashnaktsutiun), Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said that the opposition had
    overestimated its capacities and that its demands were of an extremist
    nature. He pointed out that the three coalition parties had made an offer
    the previous week to begin dialogue with the opposition.

    At this time, Artashes Geghamian and Aram Sargsian were in hiding, fearing
    arrest.

    Stepan Demirchian rejected police claims that the demonstrators had used
    violence against the police.

    A spokesman for the US State Department, Richard Boucher, expressed the
    United States' concern about the acts of violence in Armenia, and urged the
    two sides to engage in dialogue.

    - 14 April
    Artashes Geghamian, at a press conference in the parliament building, said
    that the police had searched the National Unity Party headquarters and his
    own flat, seizing documents and even family photographs. He added, with the
    support of two members of the Artarutiun alliance, Albert Bazeyan and Viktor
    Dallakian, that the opposition would continue to campaign for the
    resignation of the country's leadership.

    At a meeting with members of Armenia's United Communist Party, President
    Kocharian called for dialogue with the opposition. Tigran Torosian and
    Samvel Balasanian, members of the governing coalition, also proposed
    dialogue, during a meeting with Artashes Geghamian, who rejected the offer.
    Tigran Torosian added that a referendum of confidence in the President would
    be both unlawful and unconstitutional.

    The President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Schieder, and the Secretary
    General of the Council of Europe, Mr Schwimmer, expressed serious concern
    about the violent events in Armenia.

    At a meeting with Natalia Voutova, Special Representative of the Secretary
    General of the Council of Europe, the Prosecutor General, Mr Hovsepian, said
    that the police had acted lawfully on 13 April.

    5 April
    The three parties of the governing coalition reiterated their offer of
    dialogue, but the opposition leaders, Mr Demirchian, Mr Sargsian and Mr
    Geghamian, rejected this proposal and voiced their intention of organising a
    demonstration in Yerevan on 16 April.

    1,000 people demonstrated in Yerevan against police brutality and the
    arrests of 13 April. 115 people had been arrested on 13 April, including
    three MPs who had subsequently been released. The police accused the former
    Minister of Defence, Mr Harutiunian, who had been arrested on 13 April, of
    disturbing public order and insulting officials.

    - 16 April
    A demonstration organised by the Artarutiun alliance and the National Accord
    Party was attended by 6,000 people. Mr Demirchian told the demonstrators
    that the police brutality of 13 April was a crime that could be neither
    forgiven nor forgotten. Mr Sargsian added that the opposition would continue
    to organise demonstrations until President Kocharian resigned.

    - 19 April
    In an interview with Russian daily Izvestia, Mr Kocharian described the
    repeated opposition demonstrations as based on a "misunderstanding" and as a
    "temporary phenomenon", and said that Georgia's "Revolution of Roses" could
    not be reproduced in Armenia, whatever the opposition thought. He added: "I
    do not understand the purpose of these demonstrations, when the opposition
    is represented in Parliament and can work and prove to society its
    effectiveness and its capacity to solve problems better than the President".

    - 20 April
    Speaking to journalists, Mr Kocharian denied rumours that he was planning to
    divert the attention of the opposition which was campaigning for his
    resignation by dismissing his Prime Minister or dissolving Parliament and
    calling new elections. The Prime Minister, Andranik Markarian, said that,
    were he to be dismissed, he would join the opposition.

    The United States Ambassador in Yerevan had separate meetings with Mr
    Demirchian and Mr Geghamian. No information about these discussions is
    available.

    - 21 April
    An estimated 20,000 people demonstrated to call for the resignation of
    President Kocharian. Mr Sargsian called on the demonstrators to meet again
    on 27 April for what he called a "decisive" demonstration. Mr Dallakian
    summarised the opposition's conditions for accepting the governing
    coalition's offer of dialogue: the release of all political prisoners, the
    end of government "repression" against the opposition and the resignation of
    the Minister of Defence and the Prosecutor-General.

    - 22 April
    The Venice Commission experts concluded that the draft law on the freedom of
    assembly was not in conformity with European principles and standards.

    4. Resolution 1361 (2004) on the honouring of obligations and commitments by
    Armenia

    In January 2004 the Assembly adopted its its second monitoring report since
    the accession of Armenia to the Council of Europe in January 2001.
    Resolution 1361, adopted on this occasion, takes note of some encouraging
    developments that took place in the last two years - notably the
    ratification of Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights which
    formally abolished the death penalty However, the Resolution - as already
    mentioned - sharply criticised the two elections carried out in 2003.
    Moreover, it listed a number of serious concerns with regard to the
    democratic and human rights conduct of the Armenian authorities and
    expressed its expectations that these issues will be speedily dealt with in
    accordance with Council of Europe standards and principles.

    Regrettably, the reaction of the Armenian authorities in the events of March
    and April this year demonstrate that the Assembly's request for further
    progress was ignored and that, with regard to some of the Assembly's key
    concerns, the situation has even worsened.

    Administrative detention With regard to the scandalous and continued use of
    administrative detention, Resolution 1361 urged the authorities to amend the
    Administrative Code to put an end to this practice which is incompatible
    with the organisation's standards. The Assembly also asked the authorities
    to submit this new draft to Council of Europe expertise by April 2004.

    Instead of immediately ending this practice and preparing the necessary
    legislative drafts to this effect, the Armenian authorities resorted to a
    wide use of administrative detentions during the recent events. While it is
    difficult to verify the exact number of persons who were arrested and the
    legal basis used for their detention, most reports indicate that their
    number was between two and three hundred.

    The Assembly repeats its demand for an immediate end to the practice of
    administrative detention. The Administrative Code must be revised without
    any further delay.

    Freedom of assembly
    Resolution 1361 asked the Armernian authorities to immediately begin
    examining the question of balance between the freedom of assembly and
    respect for public order, and to adopt a law on demonstrations and public
    meetings in full compliance with Council of Europe standards.

    Regrettably, during the March and April events the authorities have
    displayed a diametrically opposite attitude. Most of opposition demands for
    authorisation of their meetings were turned down, reportedly for reasons
    that cannot be deemed as justified in accordance with Council of Europe
    standards and practice. According to Human Rights Watch, the opposition
    demands were turned down because of the "detriment to the city's economic
    well being" or "blocking traffic".

    Moreover, a draft law on rallies and demonstrations, which is currently in
    the Parliamentary procedure, was evaluated by the Venice Commission which
    found that the restrictions to the freedom of assembly envisaged by the
    draft law were too broad and limitative, giving the state authorities the
    right to restrict freedom of assembly for reasons which are not permitted by
    the European Convention on Human Rights.

    The Assembly insists that the comments of the Venice Commission are fully
    taken into account in the last reading of the law in the Armenian
    parliament, and that the freedom of assembly is no longer restricted in the
    manner which we have seen during the recent events.

    The opposition, for its part, shares the responsibility to prevent violence
    during their rallies.

    Conditions of detention
    In January, the Assembly asked Armenia to make further efforts to improve
    conditions of detention, on the basis of recommendations formulated by the
    Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
    Regrettably, according to Human Rights Watch, several persons arrested
    during the recent events were subjected to abuse during their detention by
    the police. These allegations must be investigated, in a speedy, transparent
    and credible manner, and if their veracity is confirmed, persons responsible
    should be punished in accordance with the law. The Armenian authorities
    should inform the Assembly, in the shortest delays, on the steps it has
    taken to comply with this request. Freedom of expression and media

    This is a long standing concern, also repeated in January. The situation has
    hardly improved. The authorities continue to refuse to give the broadcasting
    licence to the television channel A1+. Moreover, during the recent events
    several journalists were severely beaten by unknown persons while police
    were standing by, while others were assaulted and arrested by the security
    forces themselves. Intimidation of the press through such a conduct will not
    be tolerated. The lack of media freedom which made it very difficult to
    obtain accurate information on the recent events was also mentioned in the
    reaction of the Council of Europe's Secretary General.

    5. Conclusion

    The recent events in Armenia resulted in a worsening of the situation with
    regard to key concerns expressed by the Assembly in its January report, and
    notably with regard to the continuation of administrative detention and
    conditions of detention, human rights violations by members of police and
    security forces, freedom of assembly, and freedom of media. This situation
    cannot be allowed to continue. The rapporteurs expect an immediate and
    significant change in the conduct and legislative practice concerning the
    respect of Armenia's obligations and commitments. Failure to do so before
    the Assembly's June session could lead to sanctions.

    The opposition should enjoy full freedom to conduct their political
    activities, which include the right to peaceful demonstrations. The
    authorities should immediately abstain from any interference and
    administrative and judicial harassment in this regard.

    The fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly must be respected and
    any restrictions must be in line with the European Convention on Human
    Rights.

    This being said, the opposition shares the responsibility for ensuring that
    protests are not marred by violence. The parliament should be the main forum
    for political arguments. They should not try to circumvent the political
    institutions in the country with a hope to reverse the results of last year'
    s elections which were, in spite of criticism, validated both at the
    domestic level and by the international community.

    The Assembly should not be drawn into accepting artificial analogies between
    the situations in Georgia and in Armenia.

    The Assembly should focus its efforts on ensuring full compliance with
    Armenia's commitments and obligations. Its January Resolution contains all
    the necessary steps to bring about a qualitative change in the democratic
    and human rights situation in the country.

    The Armenian authorities must speedily implement the remaining commitments.
    This would not only reduce the present political tensions (through a full
    respect of democratic procedures, human rights and fundamental freedoms) but
    also ensure that future elections in the country are carried out in full
    compliance with international standards, and thus bring an end to the
    endemic political instability in Armenia.

    Both the authorities and the opposition should abstain from violence and do
    their utmost to prevent further incidents. They should engage in a
    meaningful political dialogue aimed at resolving the tensions and the
    Assembly is ready to offer its good offices to this effect.

    Reporting committee: Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and
    Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)
    Reference to Committee:

    Reference No. 2944 of 26 April 2004
    Draft resolution unanimously adopted by the Committee on 27 April 2004
    Members of the committee:
    Mrs Durrieu (Chairperson),
    Mr Frunda,
    Mrs Tevdoradze,
    Mrs Severinsen(Vice-Chairpersons),
    Mrs Aguiar, Mr Akçam,
    Mr Akhvlediani,
    Mr B. Aliyev,
    Mr André,
    Mr Arzilli,
    Mr Atkinson,
    Mr Baska,
    Mrs Bauer,
    Mr Bernik,
    Mrs Bilgehan,
    Mr Bindig,
    Mrs Bousakla,
    Mr van den Brande,
    Mr Budin,
    Mrs Burbiene,
    Mr Cabrnoch,
    Mr M. Cavusoglu,
    Mr Cekuolis,
    Mr Christodoulides,
    Mr Cilevics,
    Mr Colombier,
    Mr Debono Grech,
    Mrs Delvaux-Stehres,
    Mr Einarsson,
    Mr Elo,
    Mr Eörsi,
    Mr Glesener,
    Mr Gross,
    Mr Grusenbauer,
    Mr Hancock,
    Mr Hedrich,
    Mr Hegyi,
    Mr Herkel,
    Mr Holovaty,
    Mrs Jäätteenmäki,
    Mr Jakic,
    Mr Jaskiernia,
    Mr Jurgens,
    Lord Kilclooney,
    Mr Kirilov,
    Mrs Konglevoll,
    Mr Kvakkestad,
    Mrs Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger,
    Mr van der Linden,
    Mr Lintner,
    Mr Martínez Casań,
    Mr Marty,
    Mr Medeiros Ferreira,
    Mr Melcák,
    Mr Mikkelsen,
    Mr Mollazade,
    Mr O'Keeffe,
    Mr Olteanu,
    Mr Pangalos,
    Mrs Petrova-Mitevska,
    Mrs Petursdottir,
    Mr Prijmireanu,
    Mr Rakhansky,
    Mrs Ringstad,
    Mr Rivolta,
    Mr Rustamyan,
    Mr Sasi,
    Mrs Shakhtakhtinskaya,
    Mr Shybko,
    Mr Slutsky,
    Mr Smorawinski,
    Mr Soendergaard,
    Mr Spindelegger,
    Mrs Stoyanova,
    Mr Surjan,
    Mr Tepshi,
    Mr Tkác,
    Mr Vis,
    Mrs Wohlwend,
    Mr Yáńez Barnuevo,
    Mr Zacchera.
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