“March 1 issues still exist”
During today's session of the PACE Monitoring Committee, Co-Rapporteur on Armenia John Prescott presented the state in Armenia. He expressed concerned over the ineffective preliminary investigation into the case of March 1, but consider the amnesty a positive step.
Head of the Armenian delegation David Harutyunyan informed that Prescott presented the demands that the PACE had presented Armenia and the steps that had been taken, starting from mass media and ending with the case of March 1.
"The results of the investigation into the case of March 1 and the police's reforms are subject to discussion," David Harutyunyan told "A1+" and presented Armenia's position on those issues. Harutyunyan considered the decriminalization of the articles on slander and offense an achievement in terms of the mass media. Harutyunyan also said the report on Armenia would be presented in September and that the Co-Rapporteurs would pay another visit to Armenia in July.
Member of the Armenian delegation, "Heritage" MP Zaruhi Postanjyan distributed the film "Lost Spring of Armenia" by Tigran Paskevichyan and Ara Shirinyan to the participants of the Monitoring Committee's session.
John Prescott refused to answer the question regarding the PACE Subcommittee on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying he had not taken part in the session and didn't want to speak about the subcommittee at all.
Diana Markosyan
Strasbourg
