On June 28 Tigran Torosyan, RA NA President and Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE had several meetings within the scope of the PACE summer session.

During the meeting with Terry Davis, CE Secretary General and Tigran Torosyan, RA NA President and Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE highlighted that after the referendum of constitutional reforms amendments have been made to more than 60 laws, and ten laws have already been amended for complying with them. In summer active work will be done in order to adopt the Electoral Code in autumn. Mr. Torosyan highlighted the importance of forming an atmosphere of solidarity between the parliamentary and non-parliamentary political forces for holding the 2007 parliamentary elections in conformity with all the democratic criteria.

Mr. Davis congratulated Mr. Torosyan on the occasion of being elected as the President of the National Assembly and highlighted the significance of the Parliament’s work of the coming year from the viewpoint of democratic developments in Armenia and especially the 2007 parliamentary elections.

During the meeting the issue of Azerbaijan’s delegation’s aggressive policy in the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe was also discussed. The head of the Armenian delegation Tigran Torosyan highlighted the importance of the Strasbourg session for the discussion of issues concerning the commitments of member countries, whereas the members of the Azerbaijan delegation use the PACE tribune to spread aspersions and falsifications, accusing Armenia for fake things. Particularly, this time during the discussion of all issues the Azerbaijani MPs raise the question of fires in Nagorno Karabakh and in adjacent green territories. Mr. Torosyan presented the reality, emphasizing that while the NKR leaders two weeks ago have addressed to the office of the assistant of the OSCE President in order to make a correspondent observation, evaluate the situation and refute the false accusations, the Azeris make a political show in Strasbourg. In such a situation it is no more possible to keep the members of the Armenian delegation from answer speeches. Considering the spreading of aspersions and false accusations incompatible with the principles of the CE Mr. Torosyan suggested taking steps in order to settle the unhealthy situation. Mr. Davis agreed that it is really a serious problem and promised to take steps.

During the meeting they also touched upon an interview published in the Armenian press, that has been held by the reporter of “Yerkir Media” TV on June 8. Mr. Davis clarified that the reporter incited him to do blaming announcements particularly about the economic blockade of Armenia from the direction of Turkey, but he does not have sufficient information to do that. Mr. Davis asked also to give him the text of the interview.

During the meeting of Tigran Torosyan, RA NA President and Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE, Samad Seidov, Head of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE and Lord Russell-Johnston, PACE Ad-hoc Committee Chairperson on Nagorno Karabakh were debated the terms of visits to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh of the Ad-hoc committee on implementing the 1416 Resolution concerning the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the scope of the OSCE Minsk group.

The PACE Bureau confirmed the new structure of the committee, which had been presented by Mr. Torosyan in spring and now it consists of the leaders of delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan, one deputy from opposition for each delegation, Monitoring Committee rapporteurs of the two countries, the Chairperson of the Ad-hoc Committee Lord-Russell Johnston, the author of the regional report on the missing persons Leo Platvoet. Taking into consideration the fact that during the second decade of October a PACE Monitoring Committee session will be held in Yerevan and during the second decade of November a committee session on political issues will be held in Baku, an agreement was reached that the visit of the Ad-hoc Committee will be organized during the last week of October.

The visit of the Ad-hoc Committee will have a cognitive nature and the meetings in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan will serve to this purpose. The Chairperson of the Ad-hoc Committee Lord Russell-Johnston suggested discussing during the visit also the idea of holding a seminar with the participation of parliament representatives.

The results of his recent visit to the region were discussed with Leo Platvoet, PACE Rapporteur on the Missing Persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Tigran Torosyan, RA NA President and Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE expressed his satisfaction that Mr. Platvoet agreed to meet during his visit the NKR committee and the leaders of one of the appropriate NGOs on the missing persons and remained loyal to the approach of not making the issue of the missing persons a political one and expressed his willingness to do his best to support all the efforts of the report, which are directed to the solution of this important human problem. Touching upon the suggestion made by Mr. Torosyan in Yerevan to visit the NKR Leo Platvoet mentioned that in his opinion it will be useful to visit Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia and that he has decided to present his report on the results of the visit during the sitting of the PACE Committee on Refugees, Migration and Demography and to suggest the committee giving its agreement to the idea of visiting Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia (later this suggestion was accepted at the committee sitting).

Mr. Platvoet suggested giving to him the lists of the missing Armenians in order to try to organize a search in Azerbaijan and find those who maybe are alive. In order to support the works of searching the missing persons it was suggested to Mr. Platvoet creating a working group under the patronage of Red Cross with the participation of all sides. Mr. Platvoet accepted the suggestion.

During the meeting other issues were also discussed.

Artashes Geghamyan, member of the Armenian delegation had a speech during the debate on the freedom of speech and the respect of religious belief and touched upon the genocide, the blockade of Armenia from the direction of Turkey, the limitations put on the programmes of Armenian schools in Turkey, the hooliganic manifestations during the visit of the Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II to Turkey, considering all this unacceptable for a country, which has aspirations for becoming member of the European Union. Hermine Naghdalyan, member of the Armenian delegation had a speech during the plenary sitting on illegal migrants and human rights. She noted that the migrants and the displaced persons often find themselves in a vulnerable situation particularly have the need for the protection of human rights, including civil and political, social and economic rights. At the same time she presented the great difference between the refugee policies carried out in Armenia and Azerbaijan.