Associated Press Worldstream
April 28, 2004 Wednesday
Armenian parliament passes softened law regulating rallies
YEREVAN, Armenia
The Armenian parliament on Wednesday approved the final reading of a
proposed law on public gatherings that limits where they can be held
but that provides for penalizing officials if they block legitimate
rallies.
The measure comes as Armenia undergoes a wave of opposition protests
calling for the resignation of President Robert Kocharian.
It calls for rallies to be prohibited within 150 meters (about 500
feet) of places of strategic or state significance. That designation
could include the presidential palace, where police forcefully broke
up a large rally this month, injuring some demonstrators and
detaining more than 100.
However, the measure, if it is signed into law by the president, also
calls for says national and local officials can be subject to
criminal or administrative punishment if they illegally hinder the
organization of mass demonstrations.
Justice Minister David Arutyunian said the final version of the draft
law took into account most of the changes recommended by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Among the changes was elimination of a clause that would have
considered journalists and other non-participants in a rally legally
responsible in connection with a gathering’s actions.