Commenting upon the new bill “On legal regime of the emergency situation” providing for an opportunity to involve army in such situations, deputy of the opposition Heritage party Anahit Bakhshyan said such law is typical for authoritarian states.

The new law as if warns the people that if they want to protect their rights, army will be used against them, she says. Bakhshyan also deemed unacceptable the decision on declaring an emergency to be taken by the president only.

On February 9, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted the draft law “On legal regime of the emergency situation” in the first reading. The bill stipulates that emergency situation can be declared in Armenia only provided there are circumstances which directly threaten the constitutional regime, in particular, coup d'etat attempts.

The document also defines the conditions under which armed forces can be engaged during emergency situations. In particular, after an emergency situation is declared, the army can be involved only if the police troops and the National Security Service forces have failed in their tasks.

There were attempts to pass the law “On legal regime of emergency situation” twice in 2007 which have failed due to controversial discussions.

Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan suggested that the National Assembly speaker Samvel Nikoyan should return the bill to the government for amendment.