“While it is too early to give a full assessment of the effects of the changes to articles 225 and 300 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, the first signals give reason for optimism,” stated the two co-rapporteurs on Armenia after the discussions that took place last week in Strasbourg in the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on the recent political developments in Armenia.

According to this week’s report on the Assembly’s official website (http://assembly.coe.int), George Colombier and John Prescott were especially satisfied that ‘the problematic charges’ under articles 300 (“Usurpation of State power”) and the old 225-3 (“mass disorder accompanied by murder”) have been dropped by the prosecution in the cases against seven opposition members that are currently in the Courts.

“This confirms our view that the events on 1 and 2 March 2008, can not be seen as an attempt to a coup d’état..,” they said.

The co-rapporteurs stressed that it is now up to the courts to decide if the prosecution charges against the seven for having personally organized the mass disturbances can be substantiated under the recently amended article 225-1.

“It is in the interest of all that these cases are concluded as soon as possible,” they said. “…We hope that the authorities will give renewed consideration to our suggestion to declare an amnesty for all those charged for the events of 1 and 2 March 2008.”

The co-rapporteurs also highlighted the importance of the upcoming local elections in Yerevan for the normalization of political life in Armenia and welcomed Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s decision to run as “a clear signal of the Armenian National Congress that it wants to overcome the political crisis and play its role as a political force in the democratic institutions in the country.”