DEAF OPPOSITION

ULP and RPA were mainly opposing to the legislative package of double citizenship. Andranik Hovakimian, the deputy head of ANM administration reminded during a debate with one of the RPA representatives some months ago that his party together with RPA was against double citizenship in 1995. That\’s why he is surprised at the Republican\’s current position on this issue. But it is too early to think that the RPA has completely revised its position. After adoption of Constitutional amendments where the ban of double citizenship was removed, RPA faction leader Galust Sahakian told “ArmInfo” that the right of double citizens\’ participation in the elections is directly connected with our country\’s autocracy. He also added that if all representatives of Diaspora were allowed to participate in the elections, their votes would be decisive in the home policy of Armenia. In Mr. Galustian\’s opinion, those who live and work in Armenia and pay taxes here must have a right to participate in the elections. There aren\’t such conditions instead of the electoral right in the legislative package discussed at the NA yesterday. ULP faction leader Gurgen Arsenian declared: “We insist on saving those limitations which will allow the people of Armenia to decide their fate”. One of those limitations is that only RA citizens must be appointed as ministers.
RPA faction didn\’t express its official position. But it was possible to guess the Republicans\’ orientation from their questions addressed to ARF faction Secretary Gegham Manukian. RPA faction member Samvel Nikoyan asked him: “I worry about the morale of this problem. The person who lived in Armenia in the years of darkness and coldness, suffered privations, built our state and stayed here, the only proud or right he has, must have an electoral right, contrary to other Armenians who left their homeland.”
Gegham Manoukian opposed him by a question: “Is it moral when a person who fought in the front doesn\’t have financial positions, lives in awful conditions and contrary to it, he sees another compatriot who hasn\’t lived in Armenia in the war period, instead he has been engaged in economic activities, has accumulated enormous wealth and today, is actively engaged in public, political life of Armenia”. Nikoyan proposed to adopt the electoral right later, after determining some obligations.
And RPA faction member Hermine Naghdalian ridiculed Gegham Manoukian\’s declaration about young persons in the corridors of the U.S. Congress thanks to whom Armenia receives money at the end of the year. “We are thankful to those young persons,- Mrs. Hermine said. – But besides those young persons we have also met other people in Diaspora who were asking us about our conditions and whether we stand it. Both we and our compatriots in Diaspora have equal rights to be citizens unlike morale”. Gegham Manukian answered angrily: “Let\’s delimit the morale till the end. Those who have organized those dark and cold years, have no right to vote and to be voted. Let\’s send the organizers to the gallows as we have suffered in those cold and dark years. Let\’s deprive all those who haven\’t fought of civic rights to elect and to be elected.”
NA vice chairman Vahan Hovhannisian approved that speech and declared in his speech that when it was told that the Diaspora may form the RA authority, “if the population of Armenia is so indifferent for its fate that it may be solved outside, it must be solved outside. Be active.”