
ArmInfo. The role of the opposition in the Armenian parliament should be limited to balancing interests, ass stated by Arayik Harutyunyan, MP from the ruling Civil Contract faction and former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, from the podium of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on August 3.
According to him, the government is formed based on the election results, including with the participation of the opposition. The formula for balancing interests was not created today or yesterday; it has been in effect for centuries and is aimed at achieving one goal: ensuring good conditions for citizens. "If the opposition comes to parliament with good ideas and can foster public discourse around them, the government is obligated to implement them. The opposition, in turn, has every right to claim that these ideas are its own, but ultimately, only the citizen benefits from all of this," Harutyunyan said, recalling the events that have occurred over the past five years, which are comparable to what is happening in the National Assembly over the past 26 hours.
Addressing the opposition leaders, Arayik Harutyunyan noted that the country's citizens, through their votes, are choosing "real Armenia," while the opposition continues to be guided by "historical Armenia." "The country's citizens have rejected this, and if the 'Strong Armenia' faction continues in the same spirit, it will suffer the same fate as the 'Armenia' faction, whose membership has shrunk by 60% compared to the 8th convocation of the parliament," the former head of the government staff noted.
In turn, Agnessa Khamoyan, a representative of the opposition bloc "Armenia," noted in her speech that the current government's attitude toward democracy is the same as the red-bereted police officers who attack the opposition have toward democratic art. She said three things can be endlessly watched: water, a burning fire, and how the Civil Contract party tries to sell everyone on its democratic credentials. "The day before, things reached the point where a member of parliament from the ruling party called election fraudsters sons of bitches. You should have at least kept quiet, especially given how 60,000 citizens' votes were stolen in broad daylight," the oppositionist stated, also pointing to instances of people being deprived of their property. Commenting on the words of parliamentary speaker candidate Ruben Rubinyan, who recalled that he was once forced to celebrate his 18th birthday without his father, who was arrested for two months in connection with the March 1, 2008, case, Khamoyan noted that, due to the fault of the same authorities, many 18-year-olds remained 18 forever.