NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ENDS REGULAR 4-DAY SESSION, LEAVING UNSETTLED ABOUT 20 DISCUSSED ISSUES

Noyan Tapan
Feb 28, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on February
28 finished the work of a regular 4-day session. The votes on about 20
bills and bill packages discussed in the past 3 days were postponed
until the next plenary sessions. Participation of an insufficient
number of deputies in the sittings was the reason of the postponement.

The 2006 annual report on activities of the RA omudsman was presented
to few deputies present at the sitting in late February 28. The RA
NA speaker Tigran Torosian said that the parliament was to discuss
this report as early as May-June 2007 but the discussion was delayed
due to the parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007 and the overload
of the newly elected NA during the autumn session of 2007.

The RA omudsman Armen Harutyunian informed the parliament that the
report on activities of the ombudsman in 2007 will also be presented
to the NA in the next 3-4 weeks. In his brief reprt, he in particular
stated that in 2006, part of the 6,500 applications from citizens was
not examined because there was no such competence. 243 applications
received a positive solution. Most of the complaints were on activities
of courts, the police and Yerevan mayor’s office.

In response to questions of reporters, A. Harutyunian said that
the fast response group of the RA Ombudsman Office rapidly examines
the alarm calls received during the presidential elections and in
the post-election period, especially alarm calls related to speech
freedom and human rights violation.

According to A. Harutyunian, he as ombudsman tries not to interfere
in political processes and to maintain reserved behavior.