AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CRITICIZES ELECTION IN ARMENIAMay 28, 2004 - 00:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Having abolished the death penalty in peacetime, Armenia fulfilled its commitment to the Council of Europe. However, although in December 2003 Armenia passed a law on alternative military service to meet another commitment, young men, who had refused to serve due to religious considerations, continue being kept in prisons, says Amnesty International Report 2004. "Besides, Armenian authorities have arrested some 100 protesters who participated in peaceful demonstrations of the opposition, which disputed the returns of the presidential election of 2003," the document notes. Having summed up the reports of international organizations and independent observers, Amnesty International notes that in March incumbent President Kocharian won presidential elections that were marred by "widespread voting irregularities." The report says that following international criticism, the President acknowledged that the elections had fallen short of international standards and set up a commission of inquiry to investigate reported irregularities. Nevertheless, parliamentary elections in May were held on the same scenario and parties that supported the President won a large majority in the Parliament, Amnesty International notes. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Ameriabank's Trade Finance portfolio enriched with four prestigious awards from EBRD and IFC Ameriabank received the awards from international financial institutions in recognition of its trade finance operations. Armenian Economy Minister to make trip to UAE May 20-22 A delegation led by Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan will travel to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi on May 20-22 Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |