U.S. responds to opposition MP's letter on Armenian authorities' actions

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States embassy in Yerevan has responded to a latter from opposition MP, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs Taguhi Tovmasyan about the legality of recent decisions made by the ruling party.

"After putting into circulation the draft resolutions submitted by the ruling faction on recalling opposition MP Ishkhan Sagatelyan from the post of the parliament Vice President and termination of powers opposition MP Vahe Hakobyan as Chair of Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, I urgently prepared and sent letters to the international organizations, Ambassadors accredited in Armenia," Tovmasyan said on social media Saturday, July 9.

"With the letters I drew my colleagues’ urgent attention to the draft resolutions submitted by the ruling faction and noted that as the justifications of the Draft Decisions make it clear, the ruling faction takes such initiatives because of the opposition MPs' boycott of parliamentary work (not participating in the voting, absences from the NA Council Sessions, absences from the Standing Committee sessions), opinions and statements made during rallies."

According to Tovmasyan, the U.S. Embassy replied: "The United States is committed to partnering with Armenia to strengthen democratic institutions that reflect our common values. We expect political factions to work within the democratic processes available to them in parliament, as established under Armenian law.

"We defer to relevant Armenian bodies on the legality of the decisions taken in parliament on July 1 to remove opposition Members of Parliament from their positions. We also stress that a constructive opposition plays an important role in any democracy.

“The United States is committed to supporting the Armenian people as they continue to pursue a democratic agenda. I appreciate your constructive efforts towards this end”.