CLARIFICATION

e=2&p=0&id=910&y=2009&m=07&d=1 0
10.07.09

The Ministry of Defence is clarifying the recent press publications,
particularly on the article "The Citizen of the Russian Federation is
Drafted" ("Fourth Power" N 867, 09.07.2009, author: Gohar Veziryan)
Relations regarding the acquirement or cessation of RA citizenship,
as well as those regarding the legal regime of double-citizenship,
are carried out according to the "About the RA Citizenship" RA law
passed in 1995.

The article 9 of the above mentioned law, among other bases, defines
two primary bases for acquiring RA citizenship: the recognition of
the citizenship and the birth. According to the requirements of the
1st point of the article 10 of the law, "RA citizenship is given to
permanent residents of the Republic of Armenia who are former USSR
citizens; those who have not acquired other country’s citizenship
before the Constitution was practiced or have refused it in the period
of one year since this law was passed." According to this law, the
parents of Vigen Vahram Harutiunyan have been considered RA citizens,
and, accordingly, his father has received a RA citizen’s AA0408754
passport by the RA police Arabkir branch 01.06.1996, and his mother
– RA citizen’s AA0408751 passport by the RA police Arabkir branch
01.06.1996.

As a result of the amendments in the "About the RA Citizenship" RA
law amended in March, 2007 the legal regime for the double-citizens
was planned and in the article 13.1 of the law it was defined that
"RA double-citizen is considered the person who, other than the RA
citizenship, has also another state’s(country’s) citizenship.

For the Republic of Armenia the RA double-citizen is recognized only
as an RA citizen. The following law is also spread upon those RA
citizens who, after the 1st of January, 1995, without ceasing their RA
citizenship appropriately have received citizenship of another country,
or those who have unilaterally rejected their RA citizenship. The
RA double-citizen has all the rights of an RA citizen and bears all
the duties and responsibilities of an RA citizen, except the cases
defined by RA International Contracts and the Law." According the
requirements of the article 11 of the law, "the child, whose parents
are RA citizens at the time of his birth, irrespective of the place of
birth, acquires RA citizenship". According to the article 1 of the law,
"Giving up the RA citizenship or accepting other citizenship does not
result in losing the RA citizenship." The parents of V. Harutiunyan,
in 2003, without ceasing their RA citizenship in accordance with the
law, that is to say, as RA citizens violating the requirements of the
"About the RA Citizenship" RA law, have received a Russian Federation
citizen’s passport by the RF embassy in the RA, based on which Vigen
harutiunyan also was given an RF citizen’s passport by the RF embassy
in the RA in 2006.

Based on this requirement of the law, in 2007 the "About Military
Recruitment" RA law was amended and in the article 3.1 the
recruitment of the RA citizens who are considered double-citizens
was defined. According to the article mentioned, "the citizen of
another country who has accepted RA citizenship is excepted from
mandatory military service if, before accepting RA citizenship, has
served in the armed forces of another country for not less than 12
months, or has completed an alternative military service in another
country for at least 18 months, exclusive the states defined by the
RA Government. The RA citizen, who has accepted another citizenship,
is not exempted from mandatory military service, notwithstanding the
fact of his serving or not serving in another country.

The double-citizen is not exempted from military and training
recruitments." Taking into consideration the requirements of the
above mentioned RA laws, as well as basing on the requirements of the
article 46 of the RA Constitution, according to which "Each citizen,
in accordance with the law, must take part in the RA defence", Vigen
Vahram Harutiunyan is a double-citizen, and as such, is considered
an RA citizen and has all the rights of an R A citizen and bears all
the duties and responsibilities of an RA citizen, included the duty
of military service and the responsibility for avoiding it. Today,
28 draftees living in different regions of Armenia appear to be in
a similar state.