S. SARGSYAN: "REFORMS, THIS IS HOW WE WORK"

Panorama.am
21:04 19/05/2008

Today the president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan invited the members of
the working group to discuss the recommendations made by PACE "about
the democratic institutions in Armenia" article 1609. The working
group presented to the president the main directions and activities
for the implementation of the article.

All the member of the working group was present at the meeting
discussion.

The president stated that the recommendations made by the PACE in
the article 1609 feat with president’s pre-election campaign plans,
they feat with the political coalition’s plans and their announcements.

He added that Armenian authorities do follow those recommendations
as they fall under our interests. "In general, reforms, this is how
we do work," said the president.

The working group presented the main principles directed to the role
of the opposition in the political field. The president greeted
the proposals and order to take appropriate measures to implement
them. The president signified the adoption of legislative right
matched for the opposition.

Another point mentioned in the article about the election reforms
was presented to the president. A working group has bee formed by
the NA chairman where all the political bodies received invitations
to take part, the non-governmental bodies have also accepted the
invitation. It was presented that a package of reforms is being
drafted for the electoral code. The president recommended to involve
local experts in the discussion of those reforms and only after to
send them to the Venice Committee.

The other point was about the committee of the TV and Radio, Public TV
and Radio Council. It is planned to insert pluralism in the working
style of the Public TV and Radio. The group presented another point
of the article which considers to "Holding meeting, demonstration,
marches and rallies", they said that a project of changes has been
drafted, which was sent to European correspondent bodies and soon it
will be presented to the parliament.

In the meeting discussion where the points of the article 1609 were
presented to the president the working group members talked about the
court system reforms, March 1 events and the dialogue which should
be held among the political bodies in Armenia.

The head of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovhannisyan made a speech and
said that the party leaded by him has drafted another package of
the reforms which he would like to match with the one done by the
working group.

The president Serzh Sargsyan said that the one presented by the working
group is not a dogma and that they could feat the one recommended by
Mr. Hovhannisyan.