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• Ombudsman: rights to staging demonstrations violated in Armenia

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According to the report the Yerevan Municipality refused the appeals of the opposition to hold processions and rallies more than 80 times, and on occasions when rallies were granted, public transportation into Yerevan from provinces of Armenia were restricted or roads were closed.

“The situation is unsatisfactory, not only because of imperfections and shortcomings of our legislation, but it is also the result of undemocratic governance,” Ombudsman Harutyunyan told ArmeniaNow, adding that at least six rights to staging demonstrations are either completely or partially violated in Armenia.

In July the Ombudsman Office plans to submit a draft law on demonstrations, where the studies conducted by the Office will be taken into consideration, with the aim to rule out arbitrary enforcement of vague regulations.

“We do not say that if the law is amended and improved then the violations in the legal practice will be excluded, and that all the problems will be solved. There are, though, some important terms that the current law lacks,” Harutyunyan says.

The Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations of the Republic of Armenia was dramatically amended on March 17, 2008, after the March 1-2 post elections clashes, when a term was added, saying that, the staging of public events would be banned by an authorized body, if “according to reliable sources, they aimed at violating the constitutional provision by force,” and other reasons.

But later, in June 2008, under pressure of international structures, those amendments were removed, and a new term was adopted, according to which a rally organizer is required to inform the municipality of upcoming rallies. Since then, however, the municipality has most often found reasons to not allow the gatherings.