So Many Victims and No Commanders On Trial: Gevorg Petrosyan

The deputy of the National Assembly from the Prosperous Armenia faction, Gevorg Petrosyan, believes that making constitutional changes for the sake of one individual is a luxury for our country.

“The Prosperous Armenia faction voted unanimously against participating in that referendum, not because the government presented it, but because what matters to us is not who the author is, but how much it serves the strengthening of the Republic of Armenia and the socio-economic progress,” Petrosyan stated.

According to Gevorg Petrosyan, they had initially declared that the constitutional changes are legally vulnerable. “During discussions, one of our faction’s deputies, Mikael Melkumyan, suggested from the political podium number one to sit for 24 hours, discuss, and come up with a written good intention to improve the justice system. However, the authorities paid no attention to our proposal and expedited the draft. This happened despite Melkumyan’s statement that he received a strong recommendation from two co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, stating, ‘Dear ruling faction, stop the voting, present the project for conclusions, and only then put it into circulation.’ Now, after all this, what basis did Prosperous Armenia have to vote in favor and take the “Yes” to the headquarters?” Petrosyan said.

Gevorg Petrosyan also referred to the recent cases of soldiers dying in peaceful conditions within the army, emphasizing that the command should be held accountable. At the same time, the deputy disagrees with the claim that the deaths are related to the existing criminal subculture in the army. “As a citizen of the Republic of Armenia and a member of the National Assembly, I now expect and demand that law enforcement agencies investigate quickly, for instance, the circumstances of the last death. Not targeting anyone specifically, I must say that commanders must be held accountable. We have so many casualties, and no commander is being tried. Why? It is official negligence, people come in, close the doors, and leave, while soldiers are left alone,” he said.