Former Armenian official reminds 12th plenary session of EURONEST of  Armenian prisoners 

ArmInfo.  Former deputy minister of defense of Armenia, former head of the Armenian delegation to the Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan has addressed the following open letter to the participants on 12th plenary session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership. 

"Dear participants (MEPs) of the 12th plenary session of the Euronest  Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership

"As a former MP who worked on the development of the founding  documents of the Euronest PA and the text of its statute, as a former  Co-Chair of one of its standing committees and as a former Vice-Chair  of the Assembly, I am very pleased that in the 14 years of its  activity, the EaP Euronest PA plenary session is being held in  Yerevan for the second time (the first was in 2015, March 17-20).   During that time, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia  also had the honor of hosting the sessions of the Assembly's standing  committees and bureau several times.

"As an EaP partner country, the Republic of Armenia has viewed all  its formats (executive, parliamentary, and civil society) as an  opportunity to develop human rights, democratic institutions and  principles in the newly independent republic, to move closer to  European civilization and fundamental values, as well as to develop  cooperation with EU member states in economic, legal, educational,  cultural, and other areas.

"Naturally, in 2011, when the Euronest PA was being established, the  European region, and Armenia in particular, were in a different  situation. As a MP of the National Assembly of Armenia of two  convocations, I can document and remind you with what activity and  diligence the European Parliament and European structures, as well as  civil society organizations, were recording and responding to the  events taking place in the EaP member states. In 2011-18, it was  difficult to even imagine that violations of human civil or political  rights and freedoms could occur in any EaP member country and be  ignored by institutions advocating democracy.

"The Euronest PA Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and  Democracy, as well as the Standing Committee on Social Affairs,  Education, Culture and Civil Society, have prepared various reports  on fundamental human rights and freedoms in the EaP member states. I  assure you with all responsibility that if what has been happening in  Armenia in 2012-2017 had happened, then the issues of individual  political rights, freedom of speech, local self-government bodies, as  well as the autonomy of religious institutions would have been  permanently on the agenda of the Euronest PA.

"A lot has changed in today's world. Unfortunately, Armenia's  internal and external challenges have also changed, including in the  form of various rights and freedoms.

"To this day, our compatriots are illegally held in the prisons of  another EaP member state, Azerbaijan, who, believing in the  fundamental principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act,  dedicated their activities to the right to self-determination,  security, and freedoms of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"From the podiums of the Euronest PA, Armenian MPs have addressed you  and your colleagues numerous times, noting that the Artsakh issue is,  first and foremost, a matter of human rights, fundamental freedoms,  and salvation. In 2020-2023, you witnessed how Azerbaijan gained a  chance to treat people who had lived in their own homeland, in their  own homes, for millennia. They were killed, captured, starved, and  finally forcibly displaced in full view of the entire world. I hope  that the time will come when the European Parliament and the national  parliaments of the EU member states will have appropriate  opportunities to raise and give due attention to the fate and rights  of those subjected to one of the largest forced displacements of the  21st century.

"Another major issue is the socio-political situation in Armenia,  which has been declared a "bastion of democracy" with dozens of  political prisoners. I sincerely think that many of you are well  informed about the actual state of political rights issues in  Armenia, but based on the current situation, you do not consider it  appropriate to make it a subject of discussion yet. I am sure that  when you are convinced that the current government in the Republic of  Armenia has deceived and continues to deceive you, you will be more  vigilant.

"Thank you once again for finding the time to visit Armenia and I  wish you fruitful work at the 12th plenary session of the Assembly.

"Your former colleague,

"MP of the RA NA of the 4th and 5th convocations, former head of the  Armenian delegation to the Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan."