Tweet
Lragir.am
ARMENIA WAS WARNED
PACE rapporteurs urge Armenian authorities to revise media legislation
Strasbourg, 24.06.2010 - The two co-rapporteurs on Armenia of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), John Prescott
(United Kingdom, SOC) and Georges Colombier (France, EPP/CD), have
welcomed a series of initiatives outlined in the reply of the Speaker
of the Armenian Parliament to their letter recommending the
establishment of a clear roadmap for reforms in Armenia. While not
able to give a detailed assessment of the initiatives outlined in the
letter at this stage, they cautioned that more needs to be done to
ensure that the reforms address the important issues raised by the
Assembly.
`With regard to the electoral code outlined in the Speaker's letter,
we note that the draft code has not been discussed with the opposition
in the framework of the working group especially set up for this
purpose. It is clear to us that any election code that has not been
discussed with the different political forces in the country, and that
is not based on an as wide as possible a consensus among them, will
not help to create the necessary public trust in the electoral
system,' said the co-rapporteurs.
In addition, the co-rapporteurs expressed their concern about the
amendments to the Law on Broadcasting. They noted that several
highly-respected organisations have criticised this law for failing to
ensure the required pluralistic media environment in Armenia. In that
respect, they underscored that in the view of the Assembly, as adopted
in several of its resolutions, the reform of the legal framework for
the media in Armenia should not only result in a fully transparent
licensing procedure, but also in a far more diverse and pluralistic
media environment than is currently the case in Armenia.
The rapporteurs expressed their satisfaction with the direction of the
police reform and reform of the justice sector. In that respect they
stressed that the independence of the proposed police complaints body
should be fully guaranteed in law and that this body should have wide
investigative powers. Moreover, they stressed that the recommendations
contained in the report of OSCE/ODIHR on the trial monitoring project
in Armenia should be fully taken into account when elaborating the
reforms in the justice sector.
`We will return to Armenia in early spring to discuss these issues in
full detail with the authorities. Our discussions will also be based
upon the results of a hearing in the Monitoring Committee with a wide
range of Armenian political forces that we intend to organise,' they
concluded.
15:51:05 - 25/06/2010
http://lragir.am/engsrc/country-lrahos18351.html
From: A. Papazian
ARMENIA WAS WARNED
PACE rapporteurs urge Armenian authorities to revise media legislation
Strasbourg, 24.06.2010 - The two co-rapporteurs on Armenia of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), John Prescott
(United Kingdom, SOC) and Georges Colombier (France, EPP/CD), have
welcomed a series of initiatives outlined in the reply of the Speaker
of the Armenian Parliament to their letter recommending the
establishment of a clear roadmap for reforms in Armenia. While not
able to give a detailed assessment of the initiatives outlined in the
letter at this stage, they cautioned that more needs to be done to
ensure that the reforms address the important issues raised by the
Assembly.
`With regard to the electoral code outlined in the Speaker's letter,
we note that the draft code has not been discussed with the opposition
in the framework of the working group especially set up for this
purpose. It is clear to us that any election code that has not been
discussed with the different political forces in the country, and that
is not based on an as wide as possible a consensus among them, will
not help to create the necessary public trust in the electoral
system,' said the co-rapporteurs.
In addition, the co-rapporteurs expressed their concern about the
amendments to the Law on Broadcasting. They noted that several
highly-respected organisations have criticised this law for failing to
ensure the required pluralistic media environment in Armenia. In that
respect, they underscored that in the view of the Assembly, as adopted
in several of its resolutions, the reform of the legal framework for
the media in Armenia should not only result in a fully transparent
licensing procedure, but also in a far more diverse and pluralistic
media environment than is currently the case in Armenia.
The rapporteurs expressed their satisfaction with the direction of the
police reform and reform of the justice sector. In that respect they
stressed that the independence of the proposed police complaints body
should be fully guaranteed in law and that this body should have wide
investigative powers. Moreover, they stressed that the recommendations
contained in the report of OSCE/ODIHR on the trial monitoring project
in Armenia should be fully taken into account when elaborating the
reforms in the justice sector.
`We will return to Armenia in early spring to discuss these issues in
full detail with the authorities. Our discussions will also be based
upon the results of a hearing in the Monitoring Committee with a wide
range of Armenian political forces that we intend to organise,' they
concluded.
15:51:05 - 25/06/2010
http://lragir.am/engsrc/country-lrahos18351.html
From: A. Papazian