“POLITICAL PRISONERS” EXPRESSION OMITTED
Support A1+!The discussion on resolutions 1609 and 1620 began in Strasburg. Parliamentarians will express their opinions on the draft that was prepared by co-rapporteurs John Prescott and George Colombier. The draft of the resolution approved by the Monitoring Committee in Paris has been roughly facilitated. Attached to the document to be discussed are eight changes, particularly the proposal to omit the ninth point of the draft in its entirety and compose a new one.
Let us recall that the following was stated in the 9th point:
“Despite the positive steps taken towards the establishment of an independent, transparent and credible inquiry, we recommend that the Assembly suspends the voting rights of the members of the Armenian Parliamentary delegation to the Assembly, under Rule 9, paragraphs 3 and 4.c, of the Rules of Procedure, until the Armenian authorities have clearly demonstrated their political will to resolve the issue of persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, in line with Assembly demands, as expressed in Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008).
In the proposed reform there is no longer the formulation “there exist political prisoners in Armenia”, but rather the expression “those arrested based on political reasons.”
Let us recall that the demand by which it was proposed to suspend the Armenian delegation’s voting rights has been taken out and there is a new deadline-the PACE April session.
The changes will go into effect only after being discussed at the Assembly.
Karine Asatryan
Strasbourg
