PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: info@heritage.am; office@heritage.am
Website:
December 26, 2007
Heritage Parliamentary Fraction Presents Its Public Accounting
Yerevan–On December 25, Heritage Party’s parliamentary group
presented a public report on its activities throughout 2007:
"Heritage, a national liberal party–national by its roots, liberal in
its economic principles–now has seven representatives in the fourth
National Assembly. The party’s founding principle is the development
of Armenia as a democratic, lawful, and rights-based country that
anchors its domestic and foreign policies in the nation’s sovereign
interest. It is by this principle that the parliamentary fraction was
guided when it offered its platform to the body politic during the
parliamentary campaign. It maintained that principle when it received
the public’s mandate on election day. And it still champions that
principle today.
A. Heritage parliamentary group inspires legislativeactivity:
1) Party MPs have proposed five legislative initiatives which, per
parliamnetary regulation, were formally introduced on the National
Assembly floor, but have not yet made the agenda.
2) With the goal to improve on initiatives presented by other members
of parliament and the wider government, Heritage MPs have offered
numerous written and verbal suggestions, the overwhelming majority of
which has been accepted by the creators of those bills.
3) Due to Heritage’s continual efforts toward a new method and mindset
for operations at the National Assembly, the parliamentary procedure
for examining legal initiatives has, to some extent, registered an
improvement.
B. Heritage’s National Assembly delegation pursues parliamentary diplomacy:
1) Raffi K. Hovannisian, head of Heritage’s parliamentary group,
Stepan Safarian, secretary of the fraction, and MP Vardan Khachatrian
have participated in the fall sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE), NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (PABSEC), and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). At the many sittings of the
relevant commissions of these international organizations, they
delivered speeches, made proposals, and introduced amendments in
international conventions in Armenia’s national favor.
2) Heritage MPs have participated and represented Armenia’s interests
in international conferences held in Russia, Iran, Georgia, Poland,
Lithuania, Greece, and Belgium.
3) Heritage’s parliamentary delegates have met with several foreign
ambassadors, parliamentary groups, and international delegations, and
they have presented to them Heritage’s outlook on a variety of
political, economic, and other matters of concern.
C. Heritage accepted the National Assembly’s role in overseeing
Armenia’s executive and judicial bodies, and the Audit Chamber:
The party’s parliamentary group has carried out oversight by means of
its permanent and constant participation in the sessions of the
government, the Audit Chamber, and the Anti-Corruption Monitoring
Committee, in important court trials, and in parliamentary hearings.
D. Heritage moves to protect human rights:
Heritage MPs have visited numerous prisons and raised, as a result,
the issue of political prisoners in Armenia; they have addressed their
problems and deposited relevant certificates of guarantee and letters
of petition to human rights organizations and judicial bodies. The
party’s parliamentary group has also forwarded countless formal
petitions to state ministers and executive bodies with respect to the
protection of public property, ecology, national security, economics,
and social security. Members of Heritage’s parliamentary delegation
have diligently taken part in public rallies, press briefings, policy
hearings, and civic gatherings relating to the aforesaid matters.
E. Heritage takes action on civic, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and
cultural issues:
1) Heritage MPs have held consultations on various questions raised in
letters addressed to the party. They have forwarded these letters to
the relevant administration officals and sought to achieve practical
solution.
2) The party’s MPs have met and consulted with numerous ordinary
citizens during the get-togethers held every Saturday at Heritage’s
central office.
3) Members of Heritage’s parliamentary group have taken active part in
numerous forums devoted to youth, gender, and other contemporary
issues.
4) The party’s parliamentary delegates have responded quickly to-and
taken the necessary actions toward addressing-the legislative
suggestions and projects offered by individual citizens, NGOs, and
other associations.
F. Heritage opens up to the public:
1) All members of the party’s parliamentary group have given press
briefings, interviews, and commentaries on various topics.
2) Heritage MPs have issued statements, made appeals, and released
press communiqués on matters of societal concern.
3) Heritage’s parliamentary delegates have attended numerous
conferences, roundtables, seminars, hearings, and many other public
events.
Founded on national and universal values, and on the civilizational
legacy of our past, the Heritage party pursues a prosperous, secure,
and dignified future for the Armenian citizen, and a free, lawful,
democratic, and strong Motherland for the coming generations. In 2008,
the Heritage parliamentary fraction will continue to expand its size
and scope, and to prove ever-more flexible and productive, in taking
on old and new challenges."
Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land.
Its central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002,
Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10)
532.697, email at office@heritage.am or info@heritage.am, and website
at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress