The Quartet has released its requirements that are addressed to the authorities. The fact, itself, is indeed positive. The next step will be the publication of mechanisms for the execution of these requirements. In particular, clarification of their recipients.
The most controversial point for me is the reduction of penalties for violations of traffic rules. Here, as I have written many times, I see a simple, I would even say, a crude populism and encouragement of low instincts of our not law-abiding citizens. But, apparently, there is a need to distinguish small, casual, and inadvertent violations of deliberate obscenity, which, by the way, in my understanding, dominated on our roads. Who should make amendments in the Law on Administrative Offences? The government in its commonality? Or the legislative “wing” of the government, the National Assembly?
The Quartet is writing also about the “red lines”. The problem here, I think, is not the size of the penalty, but the fact that these lines are marked throughout the center of the city and are planning to mark throughout the city. So what? Shouldn’t there be free parking stations? However, this is also the task of the municipal council.
A number of requirements raised by the Quartet seem very logical to me: to eliminate the mandatory from the funded pension and return the money to the people (a respective law should be passed by the National Assembly), to reduce turnover tax, to remove the VAT taxation on the border (an urgent necessity, still it is the task of the National Assembly), to provide loans to the farmers in Armenian dram currency (Central Bank), to approve “Nairit” factory’s restarting project, to pay the debt of salaries (the government), to exclude public transport fare increases (City Hall), to adopt a legislative package on elimination of monopolies (National Assembly, but the idea is not realistic until the fall), and to amend the Election Code so that the next elections are held by 100 percent proportional voting system (National Assembly). There are clauses that contain good wishes, and which, however, need to be clarified in the political document: to double production of agricultural products (by the scale of 2-3 months? How? Why not to triple?), to endow the opposition with control functions (Where and how should the opposition control? Be an opposition general prosecutor? A chief police? A Chairman of the Chamber of Control?), not to sign any document that endangers Artsakh (there can be different opinions, which is endangered and which is not).
And as for the sale of “Vorotan-HHP”, the Special Investigation Service should be dealing with it.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
