EC Vice-President hails Armenian amnesty
Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU), Catherine Ashton, praised a general amnesty declared by the Armenian authorities.
"I welcome President Serzh Sargsyan's initiative to restart the investigation into the March 2008 events. We believe that these are positive political developments which meet the demands of the European Union and the proposals of the OSCE/ ODIHR. We urge Armenia's political forces to seize the opportunity and restart the dialogue," said Ashton.
On Thursday, May 26, the Armenian parliament approved Serzh Sargsyan's proposal to announce an amnesty, which led to the release of many loyalists of the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), including editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak daily Nikol Pashinyan and former parliamentarian Sasun Mikaelyan.
