Written declaration No. 453 | Doc. 12323 | 14 October 2010

Continuing non-compliance by Armenia of its international obligations

Signatories: Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands ; Mr Tamás GAUDI NAGY, Hungary, NR ; Ms Ana GUŢU, Republic of Moldova, ALDE ; Ms Olha HERASYM'YUK, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Azerbaijan, ALDE ; Ms Francine JOHN-CALAME, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Dariusz LIPIŃSKI, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Aleksei LOTMAN, Estonia, UEL ; Mr Theo MAISSEN, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Ms Ermira MEHMETI DEVAJA, ''The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', SOC ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Zaruhi POSTANJYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Janusz RACHOŃ, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Giacomo SANTINI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Ingjerd SCHOU, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Serhiy SOBOLEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Doris STUMP, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrej ZERNOVSKI, ''The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Recalling that Resolution 1609 (2008) on Armenia adopted after the 2008 elections firmly establishes that “the underlying causes of the crisis are deeply rooted in the failure of the key institutions of the state to perform their functions in full compliance with democratic standards and the principles of the rule of law and the protection of human rights”, and calls for “an independent, transparent and credible inquiry into the events of 1 March 2008” including the killing of 10 persons, and demands to release the persons detained on artificial and politically motivated charges;

Stressing that proper functioning of democratic institutions is not achievable without the establishment of the truth and full restoration of justice including the punishment of those responsible for previous human rights violations;

Emphasising that unpunished violations stimulate the sense of impunity and contribute to their recurrence, a vivid example of which is the death in custody of Vahan Khalafyan, who was allegedly tortured and subsequently killed by his interrogators;

Alarmed by newly-initiated criminal proceedings against three opposition activists, including journalist Ani Gevorgyan from the daily newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak;

Considering unacceptable that:

• no one is yet held responsible for the killing of 10 persons;
• representatives of the opposition, convicted on politically motivated charges, are still kept in jail;
• the authorities refuse to examine the illegal involvement of the army in the events of March 2008,

We urgently demand that the Armenian authorities:

• identify and punish those responsible for the killing of 10 persons;
• release prisoners convicted on politically motivated charges;
• conduct a transparent and credible inquiry into the illegal involvement of the army.

The continuing non-compliance by the Armenian authorities of its international obligations and Parliamentary Assembly’s demands is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.