Can the MP and his grandchild talk?
The National Assembly today resumed the discussion on the law "On Freedom of Rallies", which was interrupted yesterday.
Republican MP Rafik Petrosyan says the law should specify where rallies can be held.
RA Minister of Justice Hrair Tovmasyan, who is presenting the draft law, agreed that the issue should be cleared up. He mentioned that there is no place where a rally is prohibited and that those holding the rally should simply maintain a distance to not impede other bodies' activities.
"Prosperous Armenia" party MP Ernest Soghomonyan was concerned whether going to Freedom Square with his grandchild and speaking could be viewed as a rally or a public discourse.
According to the draft law, "a rally is the peaceful, temporary presence of two or more people without arms at any place to form a general opinion on issues of mutual interest or with the intention to express views."
Justice Minister Hrair Tovmasyan assured Ernest Soghomonyan that he could freely take walks in the squares with his grandchild and speak, rest assured that the conversation with his grandchild is about other topics.
According to ARF MP Artsvik Minasyan, the existing law needs to be changed, but he is concerned with not changing the law completely. Another ARF MP Lilit Galstyan asked about the provision on dispersing rallies stated in Article 34 and brought up the tragedy of March 1.
According to the draft law, a rally can be voluntarily dispersed; otherwise, the police have the right to disperse it in proportions. "The grounds for ending and dispersing a rally are the same. If the rally doesn't end voluntarily, it is dispersed through police intervention," said the justice minister.
Lilit Galstyan noted that dispersing and ending a rally are two different phenomena and the law gives way to ambiguity and different commentaries.
Republican MP Karine Atchemyan finds that the provision stating that rallies with over 100 people don't have to be notified should be taken out of the law "On Freedom of Rallies".
"If the organizers hold rallies with a larger number of people, they can simply say there were only 100 people and avoid taking responsibility," said Mrs. Atchemyan.
The justice minister informed that the European Court has given a clear response to this and that provision must remain.
ARF MP Vahan Hovhannisyan noted that the issue concerning marches was left out of the draft law. The justice minister agreed and said the institute of holding marches is still underdeveloped in Armenia. He also informed that international experts participated in the development of the draft law.
