Armenia: PACE Takes Step Back from Punishing Armenia

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe appears to be easing up on its criticism of the Armenian government, thus diminishing the possibility that the European body will sanction Yerevan over alleged rights abuses committed in connection with election-related political violence in 2008.

The Monitoring Commission of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recently noted that the Armenian government had made progress toward complying with PACE recommendations. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. PACE officials had hinted that Armenia might be stripped of its voting rights in the pan-European forum, if it not take action on the PACE mandates. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

David Arutyunian, the governing Republican Party's delegate to PACE, told the Regnum news agency that the Monitoring Commission welcomed recent amendments to Armenia's criminal code. At the same time, a PACE demand that suspected political prisoners in Armenia be released from custody has not been fulfilled.

The Monitoring Commission held a session on March 30 in Valencia, Spain. According to Arutyunian, the commission does not plan to recommend that a full PACE session take action to punish the Armenian delegation. Raffi Hovannisian, a PACE delegate from opposition Heritage Party, criticized PACE for softening its stance toward Armenian government, the A1plus news site reported.