2012 ORDINARY SESSION

________________________

(Fourth part)

REPORT

Twenty-ninth Sitting

Monday 1 October 2012 at 3.30 p.m.

ADDENDUM 1

Free debate

The following texts were submitted for inclusion in the official report by members who were present in the Chamber but were prevented by lack of time from delivering them.

Mr BRAUN (Hungary) — I would like to inform you that the Sixth World Congress of the Finno-Ugric Peoples was held in Siófok, Hungary in September this year. Such world congresses are held every four years in the territory of the countries concerned. The Finno-Ugric co-operation dates back 20 years now and its highest-level representation is the participation of the heads of states of the Finno-Ugric countries concerned.

The institution of the world congress was established following the collapse of the Soviet Union with the aim of the cultural rebirth and shaping contacts of the indigenous peoples living in small numbers in the territory of Russia. The world congress is a representative forum of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples independent of governments and political parties. Four hundred and seventy representatives of 24 nationalities speaking Finno-Ugric languages attended the event in Hungary. The congress was opened by the three heads of state: the Hungarian, the Estonian and the Finnish Presidents. The Russian and Estonian cultural ministers, and the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, also attended the event.

During the congress the representatives of each Finno-Ugric nation gave reports on the present situation of the Finno-Ugric nations, with special regard to the cultural, educational, demographic and ecological situation caused by the economic crisis and global difficulties. The general process of depopulation, ageing, decrease of population and the loss of cultural identity and the mother tongue are the biggest problems of the small Finno-Ugric peoples which we have to call to your attention.

The Declaration of the Sixth World Congress has been adopted which calls for closer co-operation, the contribution to the democratisation of the Finno-Ugric peoples and increased respect for the mother tongue. It calls to the attention of the national representatives the positive impact of diversity of languages for education and culture with special regard to the use of the mother tongue in kindergartens and in general education.

We are convinced, as said in the Council of Europe’s report on the Situation of Finno-Ugric and Samoyed Peoples, Doc.11087/2006, that it is in our common interest to safeguard the cultural and linguistic diversity of the world and Hungary, as a member of the Finno-Ugric family, is committed to protecting the cultural heritage of the Finno-Ugric peoples also in the future.

Mr ZOURABIAN (Armenia) — The state of democracy in Armenia has been the focus of discussions in the Parliamentary Assembly for years already. Four resolutions addressed the political crisis which developed in Armenia, when the presidential election in 2008 was rigged, the brutal dispersal of peaceful protesters and use of lethal force on 1 March 2008 resulted in 10 deaths and hundreds of wounded, and more than 150 political activists were jailed and convicted to long-term sentences.

In March 2011 huge rallies organised by the Armenian National Congress made the government of Armenia fulfil the preconditions set for the beginning of the dialogue, including the release of all political prisoners and relaunch of the 1 March investigation. The dialogue between the government and the Armenian National congress on democratic transition began on 18 July 2011 and was welcomed in resolution 1837. One could have hoped at that time that Armenia was once again back on the path of democratic development. However, what happened afterwards shows that in fact Armenia is once again descending into authoritarian rule, kleptocracy and violations of basic human rights and democratic freedoms.

On 9 August 2011, the police assaulted young activists of the Armenian National congress, beat them and charged them with resistance to the police. The Armenian authorities refused to release one of them, Tigran Araqelian, on parole despite assurances given by the Armenian National Congress in accordance with the Criminal Proceedings Law. This resulted in the suspension of the long-awaited dialogue. On 20 July this year the court finally issued a verdict giving a six-year sentence to Tigran Araqelian, and two to three-year sentences to three other youths from the Armenian National Congress. We already have one political prisoner. When this decision enters into force, we will have four political prisoners, meaning Armenia is again back to the reality we have just overcome last year.

The May parliamentary elections were another blow to democracy in Armenia. We estimate that 500 000 to 700 000 votes were falsified in a state-organised widespread operation of multiple voting and buying/coercing voters into voting for the ruling party.

Despite the PACE calls for “an independent, transparent and credible inquiry into the events of 1 March” and “concern about the lack of results of the inquiry into the 10 deaths that occurred during the March 2008 events” the killings have not been solved and nobody has been charged in relation to those crimes. It is now obvious that the Armenian authorities are engaged in a cover-up of the killings, since any credible investigation will undoubtedly establish their full and direct responsibility for the crime.

Television remains under the strict control of the presidential administration and calls by PACE for the pluralism and diversity of the media environment have been totally disregarded.

Given all these realities, I urge the Monitoring Committee and co-rapporteurs on Armenia to once again consider the situation in Armenia and take adequate measures to address the above-mentioned problems.

Mr GHAMBOU (Partner for Democracy from Morocco) — I would like to draw the Council’s attention to an important security issue that needs to be addressed properly. Over the past two decades or so, Morocco has been forced to become Europe’s policeman in the Southern Mediterranean. Obviously, Morocco alone does not have all the required means to stop the continuous flow of illegal migrants from the Sub Sahara. More seriously, Morocco is today increasingly concerned that the traffic of hard drugs (cocaine) and arms, usually practised by several terrorist groups in the Sahara and the Sahel, is condoned, not to say encouraged, by the Algerian government and its protégée the polisario. Indeed, several European and American observers have recently demonstrated the links between Algeria, the polisario and terrorist groups.

Therefore, my country is urging the Parliamentary Assembly to open a more serious debate, in Morocco or in Europe, about this complex issue, a frank debate that involves all the countries concerned by border security and stability across the Mediterranean region.