US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN1010

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN; DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT:  PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON RALLIES 
 
 
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2. (SBU)  The Armenian National Assembly passed the 
controversial "Law on the Procedure of Staging 
Meetings, Rallies, Marches and Demonstrations" (Law on 
Rallies) in its third and final reading April 28.  The 
Law on Rallies allows demonstrations to take place 
without formal permission by the government, but places 
certain restrictions on their location.  Specific 
provisions of the Law on Rallies have drawn criticism 
from the opposition and the Council of Europe, who 
question whether authorities will use the law to 
restrict future demonstrations.  The governing 
coalition contends that the law makes it easier for 
citizens to hold rallies, and incorporates nearly all 
of the suggested amendments from international 
organizations and NGOs.  End Summary. 
 
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LAW ON RALLIES PASSES 
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3. (SBU) The Armenian National Assembly passed the Law 
on Rallies by a near unanimous vote April 28.  (Note: 
Opposition deputies continue their parliamentary 
boycott, and consequently did not vote on the law.  End 
Note.)  Under the provisions of the law, organizers of 
demonstrations and rallies no longer must obtain a 
government permit to hold a rally, but need only to 
notify authorities in advance of their planned action. 
All citizens are entitled to participate in rallies, 
and the police and government officials can be held 
criminally accountable for infringing on this right. 
The law places limitations on where rallies can be 
legally held without explicit government approval; 
government offices, "cultural sites," and venues where 
another rally or public event is concurrently taking 
place require pre-approval from the police.  The police 
are empowered to breakup rallies and demonstrations 
that violate the law, specifically those that encourage 
violence or call for the violent overthrow of 
authorities. 
 
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COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND GOAM SPAR OVER PROVISIONS 
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4. (SBU) The Law on Rallies quickly passed its final 
two readings after coming under heavy criticism from 
the Council of Europe's (COE) Venice Commission during 
a roundtable discussion April 22.  The COE's 
Representative in Armenia, Natalya Vutova, presented 
the GOAM with a formal finding by the Venice Commission 
that some provisions of the law ran contrary to the 
11th Article of the European Convention on the Right to 
Hold Meetings.  The COE document noted, "The general 
impression and effect of the law as a whole is one 
which limits and interferes in an area which should . . 
. be allowed to be exercised without regulation."  The 
COE noted that authorities could use the law's vague 
provisions regulating the location of rallies to 
infringe upon basic freedoms of assembly and 
expression.  Deputy Speaker Tigran Torosyan angrily 
denounced the COE's position, contending that the 
organization was unfairly linking the current political 
upheaval in Armenia with the law.  Justice Minister 
David Harutunyan also took exception to the COE 
criticism, noting that the GOAM had been closely 
engaged with international organizations and NGOs in 
the drafting of the law and had incorporated "90 
percent" of the 80 amendments suggested. 
 
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LAW ADDS FUEL TO OPPOSITION'S FIRE 
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5. (SBU) In the past week, the opposition has also 
sought to draw a link between their anti-government 
movement and the law.  Opposition leaders say that the 
law is an attempt to stifle their campaign to unseat 
President Kocharian, and had made its withdrawal from 
consideration one of their demands to the government. 
After the law passed in its second reading April 27, 
opposition leaders refused to engage in further 
negotiations with the governing coalition. 
 
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COMMENT: POOR TIMING 
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6. (SBU) The governing coalition displayed a lack of 
political deftness in pushing through the Law on 
Rallies in the midst of the opposition demonstrations. 
Though the law had been under consideration (and 
discussion with international organizations and NGOs) 
for some time, and certain provisions enhance rather 
than curtail citizen's rights to engage in peaceful 
demonstrations, it provides further fuel to the 
opposition's campaign.  The governing coalition 
contends that a lack of other legislative agenda items 
moved up the timetable to take a final vote on the law, 
but in so doing they played into the opposition's 
suspicions that they were never seeking to resolve the 
political impasse or negotiate in good faith. 
WALKER