«Hraparak». Unwilling to Sacrifice Alen Simonian for the Sake of Soros

«Hraparak» newspaper writes: The 'Open Society Foundations' in Armenia, better known as the Soros Foundation, has requested the Speaker of the National Assembly to form a temporary ethics committee to review the behavior of Deputy Speaker Alen Simonian. The Soros-affiliated individuals were outraged by Simonian's statement during an interview with 'Hraparak,' in which he audaciously asked, 'Whose dog is Soros to have influence over the authorities in Armenia?'

Yesterday, we learned that the National Assembly's staff has already sent its conclusions to parliamentary factions, and now the factions must decide whether to form a temporary ethics committee and invite Alen Simonian to provide explanations or not. We have found out that three parliamentary factions are not inclined to 'sacrifice' the deputy speaker for the sake of the Soros Foundation; even opposition members, it turns out, are on his side on this issue.

Moreover, Alen Simonian's faction 'My Step' prefers to wait until a permanent ethics committee is established, as the faction leader Lilit Makunts told us yesterday. At that time, anyone who wishes to raise questions can address them to the committee. The draft, by the way, is already prepared and will soon be introduced for circulation. Thus, they are refusing the proposal to form a temporary ethics committee regarding Alen Simonian's case. Makunts stated that they are currently refraining from forming a temporary committee, as there have been many incidents that also involved opposition members, and they have rejected them on the same grounds.