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“NAGORNO-KARABAKH WILL NOT STAY APART”

Politics

“I can only make a positive assessment of the Moscow trilateral declaration regarding the Karabakh conflict resolution. I don't share the prevalent belief that Karabakh is left out of the negotiation process,” the head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE and Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affair, Davit Harutiunyan, said to A1+ on November 5.

“Political negotiations are impossible without Karabakh’s engagement in the talks. I find the declaration an important achievement. After the Ossetian events everyone realised that the war is not the right solution to the conflict settlement. The war even leads the issue to a deadlock where it is far more difficult to find a way out. I think that the Ossetian war taught everyone a good lesson. The declaration evidences that we are stepping a rational phase where the sides are ready to cede and benefit. There are neither winners nor losers in the process of negotiations. The settlement of the Karabakh conflict is excluded without Karabakh’s involvement.

Today Davit Harutiunyan also spoke about the implementation of PACE Resolutions 1609 and 1620 and PACE’s demand to free people detained for their political views, in particular those imprisoned on the basis of policemen’s evidence.

“I think the best way to solve the issue of people arrested or imprisoned after the March 1 events is amnesty,” he said. In reply to the question why Serzh Sargsyan hasn’t granted amnesty yet, Davit Harutiunyan said, “It is within the authorities of the president, and I do not know the reasons.”

“All detainees who have not pleaded guilty though their verdicts have been announced are also eligible for amnesty. And all those who have not been convicted yet may reject general pardon and have their case go for trial because they are sure to be acquitted. If nevertheless the court does not acquit them, they will be pardoned.

Saying that the best solution is amnesty, Davit Harutiunyan also noted that there is time for other solutions as well. When asked to detail those solutions, Harutiunyan said pardon could be a solution or the court of cassation which sets the rules of the game regarding the application of the law may decide in which case the testimony of a policeman is acceptable and in which case it is not. If the court doesn’t justify the arrestee it doesn’t mean he cannot be pardoned.

Davit Harutiunyan noted that Armenian has received recommendations from the PACE which can be either accepted or denied but at present they don’t think it expedient to deny them.