Yesterday the NA launched the discussion of the law on emergencies proposed by the government. The MPs discussed what the law entitles, anticipates, what restrictions it contains and what functions the law-enforcing bodies have during curfews. The bill anticipates the use of defense forces during curfews and defines the cases when the army can be deployed and under what circumstances. The matter of the curfew was most sharply expressed on March 1, 2008 when Robert Kocharyan declared state of emergency. Back then and till now the opposition claims that this step was illegal because Armenia didn’t have a law on curfew back then. Perhaps in order to “insure” the government under these circumstances they have decided to adopt this law. The bill that was presented by justice minister Hrayr Tovmasyan at the NA, defines that curfew may be declared in the cases of threat to the constitutional order in the country. A state of emergency may also be launched during armed riots, terror acts, occupations, during religious, nationalism and racial uprising, which are followed by violent acts and directly threaten the safety and security of the citizens. The bill defines that in order to maintain the curfew the armed forces of the police, national security service can be used. Yesterday Hrayr Tovmasyan mentioned that the bill stipulates the use of the army only in the case when the forces of the police are not sufficient. Yesterday the Armenian National Congress already made a statement that, which strictly criticizes the government for imposing this bill by evaluating it as an attempt to legitimize the illegal activities of the police in the current tense political environment.
