Armenian domestic policy shifts from Karabakh and RA-Turkey relations

PanARMENIAN.Net - Secretary of the Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Aram Safaryan said the party is planning a number of events in the near future, including one jointly with the Republican Party of Armenia. Commenting on the coalition’s legislative activity, Safaryan noted that several important bills will be discussed during the week.

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Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with heads of parliamentary delegations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member countries, who arrived in Yerevan to participate in a visiting meeting of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. The President also visited Rostov-on-Don to meet with the Russian President as well as with the representatives of the Armenian community. “The process of Armenian-Turkish Protocols ratification was frozen, as Turkey continued setting preconditions. Besides, this country want to penetrate into the Karabakh conflict settlement, what is inadmissible,” the President said.

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Head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group Vahan Hovhannisyan said that in addition to the provisions, which were strictly criticized by the Armenian political forces, there are another two items in the European Parliament’s Resolution on the South Caucasus, to which almost nobody referred. These items raise concerns, as they offer to substitute France’s co-presidency in the OSCE Minsk Group by EU mandate, Hovhannisyan said. According to him, the fact that not only Azerbaijan, but also the EU questions the current format of the Minsk Group is alarming.

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Coordinator of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Zurabyan said that the number of political prisoners reached 17 in Armenia. “On May 31, three people were arrested: Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper journalist Ani Gevorgyan, her brother Sargis Gevorgyan and David Kiramijyan,” Zurabyan said.

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Republic Party political council member Suren Surenyants expects rearrangements both in opposition and coalition. “We have to rule out participation of external forces in settlement of Armenia’s domestic problems.” As he noted, within the next months to come, Armenian President will attempt to form an integrated system of state governance. Commenting on ANC future steps, Surenyants said the opposition has to intensify activities, using all necessary mechanisms.

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According to expert Ruben Melkonyan, Armenians in Turkey may suffer from anti-Semitism wave of violence in the country. “Moreover, the Islamic solidarity which will gain an impetus after the recent Gaza incident represents a menace for Armenia,” he said.