01 April 2008, 12:43
Human Rights Watch demands sanctioning free peaceful actions in Armenia
The government of Armenia shall lift the restrictions imposed on the right to hold rallies, marches and demonstrations and stop bringing participants of peaceful actions to police stations. This is a topic of the statement disseminated by the Human Rights Watch.
The statement emphasizes that on March 25-27 only, at least 80 persons who had been just walking along central streets of Yerevan were brought to police stations.
The Human Rights Watch asserts that the amendments made in the Law "On Rallies, Marches and Demonstrations" contradict to the obligations undertaken by Armenia before the European structures.
"The European Convention on Human Rights, where Armenia is a participant, guarantees the freedom of rallies, marches and demonstrations. The European Court for Human Rights describes the right to hold rallies and demonstrations as one of the fundamental pillars of the democratic society," human rights activists note.
The organization also states that the authorities of Armenia, by taking advantage of these legislative amendments, has at least six times rejected the applications of opposition parties on holding their rallies in the Freedom Square.
Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent
