Armenia: European 6-Point Proposal

Unzipped posts and briefly comments on details of a six-point proposal from the Council of Europe’s Ago monitoring group which is aimed at defusing the current political crisis and tensions in Armenia. The blog says that while the proposal is largely in line with one from PACE, the tone is more critical of the authorities.

In particular, the proposals call for the release of those detained solely for their political activities and an independent inquiry into the 1 March clashes in Yerevan which left eight dead.

The CoE Ago group arrived in Armenia on March 29 with an unprecedented delegation, which includes the delegates of 9 members of the Council of Europe. Since 2005 when it was set up the Ago Group has not visited Armenia with such a big delegation. This was stated by Per Sjogren on March 31 who held a news conference together with the foreign minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan. […]

[…]

The fourth recommendation is an endorsement of an impartial, national investigation of the events of March 1. Per Sjogren says the details of the investigation is not their business but says it should not be carried out by one body, such as the office of prosecutor general but should be a national, comprehensive investigation which enjoys wide confidence.

[…]

Finally, the sixth recommendation of the Ago Group is a dialogue between the government and the opposition without preconditions.