Wednesday, June 18 2014

 Head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Faction Armen Rustamyan has told the media about some details of his meeting with PACE Co-Rapporteurs Axel Fischer and Alan Meale. Rustamyan says that they discussed the non-coalition parliamentary forces' demands addressed to the Government, as well as the constitutional reforms initiated by the authorities.     

"We have pointed out that no reform will be effective without real changes in the political system. We have substantiated the need to switch to the parliamentary regime. We have also expressed our indignation at the fact that the Council of Europe does not support our demand, i.e. publishing the lists of the citizens who have already voted", he says. 

Rustamyan adds that the meeting also covered issues related to Armenia's decision to join the Eurasian Economic Union, which he says is explained by the need to ensure Armenia's security. "We have also expressed our concern over the fact that the Council of Europe is indifferent to protection of the elementary rights of Artsakh people. First and foremost, the matter concerns the problem of communication. The people visiting Artsakh are inevitably included in Baku's black list. The international community should clearly respond to this policy of Azerbaijan", says Rustamyan.  

The meeting did not cover the tragic March 2008 developments in Yerevan. The co-rapporteurs discussed the problem of political prisoners in Armenia. In this context, the PACE representatives said that according to their information, there are 15 political prisoners in Armenia.