People must not be imprisoned for their political beliefs, Thorbjørn Jagland, CE Secretary General, told journalists in Yerevan, responding to a question about 11 people under arrest in the March 1, 2008 case. NEWS.am reminds readers that clashes in Yerevan on March 1, 2008, claimed ten lives, leaving over 200 injured. A number of oppositionists were arrested.

Thorbjørn Jagland pointed out that the CE is keeping track of the processes in Armenia after the March 1 events and raising issues arousing concern at all the meetings with the country’s leaders. He assured the journalists he was not informed of the victims’ relatives request for a meeting.

Thorbjørn Jagland stressed the CE is also dealing with the issue of broadcasting right of the A 1+ TV company, and CE officials often discuss it with the Armenian leaders. The CE is well aware of the problems and expresses its concern when necessary.

This is the reason why Armenia is still under monitoring. If necessary, citizens can apply to the European Court of Human Rights, the CE Secretary General said.

He emphasized that the CE has no right to interfere in domestic affairs. If the CE assumes the functions of countries’ national institutions, it will find itself in a difficult situation. Democratization is a long and complicated process, but the most important thing is that Armenia is going through the process. Some countries go through this process slowly, but slow progress is better than no progress. The CE wants the authorities to establish a dialogue with civil society, which is better than street actions, the CE Secretary General said.