ORINATS YERKIR PARTY TO PRESENT ITS EXACT POSITION ABOUT PROCESSES INSIDE PARTY AND FACTION IN COMING DAYS

Noyan Tapan
May 10 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. In the coming days the Orinats
Yerkir (Country of Law) Party will present its exact position
about the processes going on inside the party and the parliamentary
faction. Mher Shahgeldian, party’s Vice-Chairman, Chairman of RA NA
Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs,
informed about this preferring to refrain from any commentaries for
the present. According to him, as of May 10, in the recent 4-5 days,
5 businessmen MPs put in applications on leaving the party and the
parliamentary faction. They are Melik Manukian (electoral district
N 45), owner of the Bellagio restaurant complex Grigor Margarian
(electoral district N 13), Kotayk Governor’s brother Samvel Shahgaldian
(electoral district N 43), Arshak Mkhitarian and shareholder of
the MAP company Alexan Petrosian (the last two were elected by the
proportional system). To recap, earlier one more businessman MP,
owner of the SAS supermarkets’ network Artak Sargsian, was expelled
from the party for voting “for” the report on fulfilment of the state
property privatization program, against the party’s position. The MPs
who left the party according to their own application abstained during
the voting with the exception of M.Manukian who was absent from the
voting. According to M.Shahgeldian, no reason for leaving the party and
the faction was mentioned in the applications of the above-mentioned
MPs. To recap, according to some rumours, other businessmen MPs also
have serious intentions to leave the party and the faction, faction
head Samvel Balasanian is also mentioned among them. As Noyan Tapan
correspondent was informed by Hovhannes Margarian, member of the
party board, Vice-Chairman of RA NA Standing Committee on State and
Legal Issues, personally he “does not see any tragedy or shock if,
for instance, 61995 or 61994 out of over 62 thousand members of the
Orinats Yerkir Party remain”.

He also mentioned that they have passed a 3-year joint way with the
MPs who left the party and there is “a mutual confidence and respect
towards one another”. According to him, “black agitation campaign, a
crusade” has started by different political forces towards the Orinats
Yerkir Party in the recent month, but “they have obtained immunity
towards all this”. He assured that henceforth the Orinats Yerkir
Party will protect the principles adopted by it and the estimation
given by its electors will be the most important for the party.

“Not being for suppositions and prognoses” the MP said that he has
no apprehension that in the near future the party can found itself
among the minority, according to the rumours, having only 5-6 instead
of 21 MPs included in the party in advance.