“I think that the parliamentary factions of the fourth convention will have the occasion and the opportunity to express their sole viewpoints on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue,” chairman of the National Assembly, Tigran Torosyan, said on Friday. He is certain that Azerbaijan has no desire whatsoever to settle the Karabakh conflict.
“They don’t even have the desire to solve the issue deep within their souls because when they started the war the first time, they had supremacy over Armenia and Karabakh with respect to human, military, financial and other resources. They knew very well that the outcome of war is not determined by having ten tanks or three planes more or less. This was a totally different war,” said Torosyan. The latter also informed that the Government of Armenia will most probably present its plan of action to the National Assembly on Monday, June 25, and the plan will be discussed within 48 hours. He also said that construction on the new building that is being built in the back of the National Assembly will end in summer 2008, and during the summer vacation the two buildings will turn into one total complex. The hall will also go through construction. The subsequent sessions will take place in the new hall as of September 2008. The new hall will have a new image and new possibilities. The National Assembly Chairman touched upon the letter of “Heritage” which calls on releasing political prisoners Alexander Arzumanyan, Zhirair Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan. Torosyan promised to respond to the “Heritage” letter on Saturday.
“That letter is unacceptable for me because it affirms that there are political prisoners in Armenia. I think that those whom they write about in the letter are not political prisoners. There are no political prisoners in Armenia. The so-called “political prisoner” is not by the wish of any one person. There are certain formulations by which it is determined whether this or that person is a political prisoner or not.”
Anyway…the first sessions of the constant committees took place Friday at the National Assembly. Republican Hakob Hakobyan was elected vice-president of the committee on defense issues, Dashnak Artsvik Minasyan was elected vice-president of the committee on financial loans and budget issues, member of the “Prosperous Armenia” party Vardan Bostanjyan was elected vice-president of the committee on economic issues, Republican Armen Danielyan was elected vice-president of the committee on human rights, Republican Vazgen Karakhanyan was elected vice-president of the committee on international issues, while member of “Prosperous Armenia”, Naira Zohrabyan, was elected vice-president of the committee on education. Member of the Dashnaktsutiun, Artyush Shahbazyan, was elected vice-president of the standing committee on state legal issues of the National Assembly, and Republican Mkrtich Minasyan was elected vice-president of the committee on social, health and environmental protection issues. The session of the standing committee on European integration issues will take place on June 25.