Police should support demonstrators?
"If a rally is peaceful, but prohibited, the police have no right to stop it. Instead, they should support it," announced RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan during a discussion on the draft law on making changes in the RA Law on "Rallies". He added that according to the ODIHR, the prohibition of rallies must be viewed as an extreme measure.
The discussion is being held by the assignment of Serzh Sargsyan and the initiative of the RA Ombudsman and today was the first day of public discourse.
RA Deputy Chief of Police Artur Osikyan asked whether there are other European countries where the police have more powers during rallies than the ones mentioned in the draft law presented by the RA Ombudsman's Office or not. Later, he told "A1+" that the draft law is more improved than the existing legislation, but "it has its flaws like other draft laws."
Armen Harutyunyan stressed that the existing law has many articles and points that need immediate revision. "This draft law will no longer allow the termination of a rally due to a small violation. If there has been a notice and no reply, the rally can be held."
Adviser to the RA President Gevorg Kostanyan said the draft law is a progress because it is aimed at creating a legislative base that will "create a balance between the right to hold rallies and the exercising of other human rights". "The draft law is called on guaranteeing the right in its entirety by excluding abuse on the part of the state or a government agency that may lead to the recognition of a violation of the European Court," he added.
According to Gevorg Kostanyan, the draft law can be considered as a process of implementing the suggestions made by the ad-hoc committee involved in revealing the events of March 1. "The ad-hoc committee had set aside the new draft law on "Rallies" and the creation of a legislative base in its conclusion and we have included the improvement of the legislation on rallies in our program for reforms."
According to the RA President's assistant, the draft law will be put into circulation after receiving the official viewpoint of the Venice Commission on November 16.
