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Reform Controversy: Sargsyan defends plans for constitutional changes
Politics | 08.09.14 | 10:24
Photo: www.hhk.am
President Serzh Sargsyan sees no serious arguments against making
changes in the current Constitution despite criticism from most
opposition and non-governing forces, including his two predecessors.
Speaking at the meeting of the board of the ruling Republic Party of
Armenia (RPA) on Saturday, Sargsyan said that a drastic reform of the
political system of the country will underlie the concept of
constitutional changes that a special commission of experts is due to
submit by October 15.
The head of state stressed that such a reform is a vital necessity for
the development of Armenia as a law-abiding and democratic state. At
the same time, he called for active political work with parliamentary
and non-parliamentary forces for the promotion and coordination of the
constitutional reform.
"We clearly understand that a maximally broad coordination of the
constitutional reform is necessary as the Constitution can be
effective only if there is public consent. We are ready to openly
discuss any initiative that will be aimed at strengthening the rule of
law and democracy, at the protection of human rights, the achievement
of a more effective system of governance, an independent and impartial
judiciary," he said.
"All the counterarguments that the critics of the reform cite - even
though I don't see such counterarguments - are unclear to me... They say
only one thing: now it is not the right time for that. And why is it
not the right time? Can such a thing be an argument in a serious
discussion at all? I would like to hear arguments, because arguments
like "now it is not the right time, now everything is different, it
was different in the past" are ways and excuses to avoid discussions,"
Sargsyan concluded.
At least three of the four major opposition and non-governing
parliamentary parties have opposed the reforms first announced about a
year ago. The Armenian National Congress, the Prosperous Armenia Party
and Heritage argue that Armenia has lots of much more pressing
concerns, such as economic, social and demographic problems, than a
constitutional reform and that the government should focus on solving
these issues in the first place. Another implicit concern of the
opposition forces is that by reforming the Constitution and
effectively turning Armenia into a parliamentary republic the current
ruling elites seek to reassure their continued grip on power after the
next general elections in 2017-18.
Still in April when several blueprints for the reform were first
unveiled President Sargsyan pledged not to seek a high government post
after the end of his second and last term in office in 2018. He
implied that his two predecessors, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert
Kocharyan, should follow suit. One of the changes planned in the
Constitution supposedly may bar heads of state from holding the post
for more than two times in a lifetime.
But both Ter-Petrosyan and Kocharyan pronounced against the need for
constitutional reforms in Armenia at present. Kocharyan, who marked
his 60th birthday on August 31, had also said that even if restriction
for holding presidential office for more than two terms in a lifetime
were included in the Constitution, it could not be applied
retrospectively. And 69-year-old Ter-Petrosyan, who had cited his age
as the main reason for not running for president again in 2013, even
said in one of his recent interviews that "the issue of the
constitutional reform is a sort of watershed between the dictatorial
regime and healthy forces of the society, a problem on whose solution
the future of Armenia and Karabakh depends."
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/56656/armenia_constitutional_reform_president_serzh_sarg syan
From: A. Papazian
Politics | 08.09.14 | 10:24
Photo: www.hhk.am
President Serzh Sargsyan sees no serious arguments against making
changes in the current Constitution despite criticism from most
opposition and non-governing forces, including his two predecessors.
Speaking at the meeting of the board of the ruling Republic Party of
Armenia (RPA) on Saturday, Sargsyan said that a drastic reform of the
political system of the country will underlie the concept of
constitutional changes that a special commission of experts is due to
submit by October 15.
The head of state stressed that such a reform is a vital necessity for
the development of Armenia as a law-abiding and democratic state. At
the same time, he called for active political work with parliamentary
and non-parliamentary forces for the promotion and coordination of the
constitutional reform.
"We clearly understand that a maximally broad coordination of the
constitutional reform is necessary as the Constitution can be
effective only if there is public consent. We are ready to openly
discuss any initiative that will be aimed at strengthening the rule of
law and democracy, at the protection of human rights, the achievement
of a more effective system of governance, an independent and impartial
judiciary," he said.
"All the counterarguments that the critics of the reform cite - even
though I don't see such counterarguments - are unclear to me... They say
only one thing: now it is not the right time for that. And why is it
not the right time? Can such a thing be an argument in a serious
discussion at all? I would like to hear arguments, because arguments
like "now it is not the right time, now everything is different, it
was different in the past" are ways and excuses to avoid discussions,"
Sargsyan concluded.
At least three of the four major opposition and non-governing
parliamentary parties have opposed the reforms first announced about a
year ago. The Armenian National Congress, the Prosperous Armenia Party
and Heritage argue that Armenia has lots of much more pressing
concerns, such as economic, social and demographic problems, than a
constitutional reform and that the government should focus on solving
these issues in the first place. Another implicit concern of the
opposition forces is that by reforming the Constitution and
effectively turning Armenia into a parliamentary republic the current
ruling elites seek to reassure their continued grip on power after the
next general elections in 2017-18.
Still in April when several blueprints for the reform were first
unveiled President Sargsyan pledged not to seek a high government post
after the end of his second and last term in office in 2018. He
implied that his two predecessors, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert
Kocharyan, should follow suit. One of the changes planned in the
Constitution supposedly may bar heads of state from holding the post
for more than two times in a lifetime.
But both Ter-Petrosyan and Kocharyan pronounced against the need for
constitutional reforms in Armenia at present. Kocharyan, who marked
his 60th birthday on August 31, had also said that even if restriction
for holding presidential office for more than two terms in a lifetime
were included in the Constitution, it could not be applied
retrospectively. And 69-year-old Ter-Petrosyan, who had cited his age
as the main reason for not running for president again in 2013, even
said in one of his recent interviews that "the issue of the
constitutional reform is a sort of watershed between the dictatorial
regime and healthy forces of the society, a problem on whose solution
the future of Armenia and Karabakh depends."
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/56656/armenia_constitutional_reform_president_serzh_sarg syan
From: A. Papazian