Nalbandian met with ambassadors accredited in Armenia

ArmInfo. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with ambassadors of foreign countries accredited to Armenia. The press service of the Armenian Foreign  Ministry told ArmInfo.

Touching upon the protests held in the republic for more than a week,  Nalbandian noted that they are not only guaranteed by law, but also  provided properly. "It is clear that the actions of law enforcers  these days were not just proportional, but in many cases more than  restrained. The commensurate and professional actions of the  policemen these days are also the result of many years of cooperation  with the OSCE and other international organizations, "the Armenian  minister said.

At the same time, he added that, as is emphasized in numerous police  statements, rallies and marches were carried out with a lot of  violations, and, first of all, the law on Freedom of holding rallies  was violated, which jeopardized public order, citizens' safety and  their right. Nalbandian stressed that the right of citizens to free  movement was violated, there were attempts to enter educational  institutions and violate their natural work, and damage was done to  private and state property.

The Armenian Foreign Minister also drew the attention of the  ambassadors to the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh  Sargsyan, in which he calls for a political dialogue of the  demonstrators.

The meeting was also attended by the head of the expert group on  legal reforms in Armenia Vardan Poghosyan, who presented the  provisions of the law on Freedom of Assembly and pointed out  violations committed during the protests.

Several ambassadors stressed that they agreed with the minister that  the authorities had taken all measures to properly ensure the right  to hold meetings, as well as the proportionate actions of the police,  noting the importance of ensuring the peaceful nature of the meetings  and political dialogue.

In conclusion, Nalbandian confirmed that respect for fundamental  freedoms, strengthening of democratic institutions, freedom of speech  and assembly are a valuable and irrevocable achievement of Armenia.