Tweet
OPPOSITION MP CONSIDERS 2011 LOST YEAR
Tert.am
21.12.11
Armen Martirosyan, a lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party faction
in parliament, considers 2011 a lost period.
"The year was lost as we postponed our plans to solve problems for yet
another year," he said at his end-of-year news conference on Wednesday.
Martirosyan referred to the amended Electoral Code, noting that it
failed to meet the people's expectations. He said the amendments did
not help close the loopholes allowing for frauds, or ban the majority
voting system.
He further spoke of Armenia's economic situation, considering the
authorities' economic policies ineffective.
"The prices of necessities have grown almost twice, with salaries
remaining unchanged. This is why official records show 35% of poverty
rate while the non-official records show 60%. If we add to this
people's distrust in tomorrow, a major factor contributing emigration,
there are no grounds for optimism," he said.
As for the political developments in 2011, Martirosyan said they
weren't aimed at assisting the people.
"The developments in 2011 had nothing to do with the society," he
said, referring to the failed dialogue between the authorities and the
opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Council of Europe's
move to close the page on the March 2008 political turmoil in Yerevan
and the ruling coalition's memorandum aimed to back President Serzh
Sargsyan in the 2013 presidential polls.
He said the Heritage party voiced its protest against its memorandum
in the person of its leader, Raffi Hovhannisyan, who declared a
hunger-strike in March.
He noted further that the party managed to reach an agreement with
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D) over
electoral reforms.
"We also had achievements in the past year, but not in politics or
economy, rather in sports," he said.
From: A. Papazian
Tert.am
21.12.11
Armen Martirosyan, a lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party faction
in parliament, considers 2011 a lost period.
"The year was lost as we postponed our plans to solve problems for yet
another year," he said at his end-of-year news conference on Wednesday.
Martirosyan referred to the amended Electoral Code, noting that it
failed to meet the people's expectations. He said the amendments did
not help close the loopholes allowing for frauds, or ban the majority
voting system.
He further spoke of Armenia's economic situation, considering the
authorities' economic policies ineffective.
"The prices of necessities have grown almost twice, with salaries
remaining unchanged. This is why official records show 35% of poverty
rate while the non-official records show 60%. If we add to this
people's distrust in tomorrow, a major factor contributing emigration,
there are no grounds for optimism," he said.
As for the political developments in 2011, Martirosyan said they
weren't aimed at assisting the people.
"The developments in 2011 had nothing to do with the society," he
said, referring to the failed dialogue between the authorities and the
opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Council of Europe's
move to close the page on the March 2008 political turmoil in Yerevan
and the ruling coalition's memorandum aimed to back President Serzh
Sargsyan in the 2013 presidential polls.
He said the Heritage party voiced its protest against its memorandum
in the person of its leader, Raffi Hovhannisyan, who declared a
hunger-strike in March.
He noted further that the party managed to reach an agreement with
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D) over
electoral reforms.
"We also had achievements in the past year, but not in politics or
economy, rather in sports," he said.
From: A. Papazian