At a press conference held today, Stepan Demirchian, President of the People's Party of Armenia, stated that, "If the European Commission voted not to strip the Armenian delegation of its voting rights it doesn't mean that the problem has been resolved nor the crisis overcome. In the end, the crisis in Armenia isn't based on the EC's resolution but rather on the events of March 1st. Mr. Demirchian noted that the EC's decision wasn't a defeat for the opposition-led Armenian National Confress (HAK) since it never desired for Armenia to be deprived of its voting rights but rather the fulfillment of its prior obligations. However, Mr. Demirchian believes, as do other opposition leaders, that the recent PACE decision was based on one-sided information and promises that PACE monitors Prescott and Colombier received during their last visit to Yerevan earlier this month from the Armenian authorities. For example, information regarding the pardons of political prisoners was incorrect because only two of the 16 recently pardoned by President Sargsyan were registered as "political Prisoners". Mr. Demirchian also noted that they were released only a few days before the PACE session and that HAK didn't have time to inform the Europeans about the truth of the matter. Regarding modifications to Articles 300 and 225 of the Armenian Criminal Code and the possibility of releasing opposition activists on this basis, Mr. Demirchian stated, "The Armenian authorities have come up with this ploy to resolve the matter. They change the laws and this lays the foundation to release a portion of political prisoners. But the fact remains that this case and the other cases brought on the basis of these articles are fabbricated and the authorities are trying to come up with a face saving measure. However, the EC also demanded that those detained solely on the testimony of the police be released as well."