The Armenian Zhamanak newspaper interviewed representative of Human Rights Watch in the South Caucasus Giorgi Gogia.

How do you assess the decision to hold an amnesty in Armenia adopted by Parliament on the proposal of President Serzh Sargsyan, and which will grant the freedom to those arrested after the events of March 1, 2008?

I welcome amnesty as these people originally were not supposed to be in prison. If amnesty is conducted and those arrested after the March 1 events are released, it would be a step forward.

How do you assess the instruction of President Serzh Sargsyan to law enforcement agencies to give new impetus to investigation into the March 1 events? Many are pessimistic about it saying that law enforcers are unable to conduct an unbiased investigation. What do you think should be done for full disclosure of events?

President’s instruction suggests that the previous investigation was not detailed and there was no public confidence in the results of the investigation. We must wait for outcome of the new investigation. It is very important for society and political forces to be involved in the process. Human Rights Watch issued a report on the events of March 1, 2008. For us it is crucial that the investigation gave the answers to questions raised in the report.

Those responsible for wrongdoings should incur liability.