September 16, 2008

Heritage MPs Welcome Opposition Members From the British Parliament

Yerevan—Today members the Heritage Party’s parliamentary faction met with Professor Brian Brivati, the director of the John Smith Memorial Trust of Great Britain, and Damian Green—the vice chairman of the Trust’s board of trustees, vice president of the British parliament’s Tory Reform Group and chairman of Parliamentary Mainstream. During the meeting, the Heritage MPs and the visiting British delegation discussed the role of parliamentary oppositions. “The main objective of our meeting with the Armenian parliamentary opposition is to exchange views concerning the opposition and its function,” Green noted.

In his turn, chairman Armen Martirosian of Heritage’s parliamentary group underscored the importance of this meeting and expressed hope that “the outlooks exchanged will benefit the expression of diverse opinions and the institution of democracy and other essential constituents in Armenia.” Martirosian also introduced to the guests the members of the Armenian National Assembly’s sole opposition faction.

Secretary Stepan Safarian of the Heritage Party’s parliamentary group spoke about the rights of the parliamentary opposition in Armenia and the difficulties it faces. He underlined that substantial changes were called for in the Armenian law on the “Regulations of National Assembly” and that the law “On the Opposition” needed to be passed which, according to Safarian, significantly will increase the opposition’s balance in governance. Safarian also stated that he was preparing the draft law “On the Parliamentary Opposition” and therefore, and prior to introducing his law proposal to the National Assembly, he welcomed a valuable exchange with the relevant and exemplary British and European experience.

Stepan Safarian also pointed to the recent amendments which Armenia’s parliamentary coalition made in the law on the “Regulations of National Assembly.” To remind, these amendments foresee the endowment of certain rights to the opposition in the next National Assembly. But Safarian explained that these amendments simply were aesthetic changes which sought to deceive the Armenian and international body politic. “Even this minimal function reserved for the parliamentary opposition shows the extent and nature of the rights which the opposition could cede to the ruling administration. More precisely, the authorities are not prepared to share the responsibility with the opposition and to find solutions which are in the interest of the country and democracy alike,” Safarian concluded.

In their turn, Brian Brivati and Damian Green spoke in depth about the rights that are reserved for the opposition in the British parliament. The guests also gave details with respect to the makeup, structure, and role of the parliament of Great Britain. During the discussion, secretary Vardan Khachatrian of Heritage’s executive board emphasized that a democratic administration was a precondition for the absolute function of the opposition and accordingly underlined that the truths presented by the visiting British delegation could become realities in Armenia solely in the case of having legitimate authorities in the country.