Armenia: Yerevan avoids PACE punishment yet again

Marianna Grigoryan: 1/27/09

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe declined on January 27 to punish Armenia over Yerevan's failure to implement mandated reforms in the wake of 2008's political violence in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

At stake in a January 27 PACE vote was the suspension of Armenia's voting rights in the European legislative body. By a 141-3 margin, deputies decided not to impose such a punishment on Yerevan. In so acting, PACE appeared to back away from implementing penalties outlined in two previous resolutions, both of which demanded that the Armenian government provide a full and transparent account of its actions during the 2008 political crisis. So far no such independent investigation has been conducted PACE had also demanded that the government release what the European group portrayed as political prisoners being held in Yerevan.

A third PACE resolution, adopted January 27, extended the organization's deadline for Armenia's compliance with democratization mandates until April. "It was important that Armenian colleagues understand that the Assembly sought to integrate Armenia into the community of values to which it had chosen to belong, and not simply to criticize," said PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig.

Last November, PACE's patience with Armenia's foot-dragging appeared near an end. Following a fact-finding tour late that month, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg told EurasiaNet that Yerevan would be stripped of its voting rights unless it implemented required reforms by the late January deadline.

In the weeks leading up to the January 27 PACE vote, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan granted amnesty to at least a dozen individuals, and pardoned 16 others, all of whom had been jailed in connection with the February-March political violence in Yerevan. Despite these moves, opposition leaders maintained that dozens of other individuals remain behind bars and should be counted as political prisoners.

Pro-government lawmakers in Armenia applauded PACE's restraint. "The prospect of Armenia being deprived of its voting right seemed vague to me," parliament member Eduard Sharmazanov of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia told EurasiaNet. He went on to insist that Armenian leaders were committed to fulfilling the requirements outlined in PACE resolutions. "Authorities [in Yerevan] have the political will and they are taking steps," he said. "We have until April, but we realize we will be continuously implementing reforms."

Vardan Khachatrian, a MP and member of the opposition Heritage Party, expressed doubt over whether the Armenian government would make the PACE-mandated changes by the new deadline. He suggested that PACE lacks leverage to enforce compliance on Yerevan, and Armenian leaders are keenly aware of this. "It was clear Armenia would not be deprived of its voting right, because Armenia and Azerbaijan have to stand on an equal position," Khachatrian said, referring to the ongoing peace process surrounding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Yervand Bozoyan, an independent political analyst, expressed the belief that the government would at least take some steps to please PACE before the next deadline passes. "Authorities [in Yerevan} are not interested in straining the situation and will most likely take real steps by April," Bozoyan said. "If Armenia loses its voting right in April it will hurt the country's image significantly."

Editor's Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in in Yerevan.