Government Decides to 'Punish' Human Rights Defender for Good Work: Taron Simonyan

Member of Parliament Taron Simonyan from the 'Enlightened Armenia' faction writes on his Facebook page: “Evidently, according to the Government, it is PUNISHABLE to perform patriotic, professional work, education, and science. During the meeting on March 11, the Government approved (unconstitutional) legislative initiatives within the framework of questions not submitted for reporting.

The Government has decided to 'punish' the Human Rights Defender for good work and deprive him of the constitutional guarantee of financial independence, hoping to control the work of the Defender through dependence. Professional and dedicated work is unacceptable to the Government. Perhaps, according to them, it is necessary to not act and to remain unprofessional in order to be seen as 'good' in the eyes of the Government.

The guarantee of financial independence of the Human Rights Defender is being eliminated: 'The amount allocated from the state budget for the funding of the Defender and his staff, as well as the Defender, as the national mechanism for prevention, cannot be less than the amount allocated in the previous year's state budget' - Article 8.5 of the Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia.

The Government also intends to strike at scientists and science. The legislative guarantee for the development of scientific and scientific-technical activity is being eliminated: 'For the funding of scientific and scientific-technical activity, the state allocates budget appropriations each year that are not less than those increasing proportionally to the growth of the revenue part of the budget compared to the previous year' - Article 23.2 of the Law on Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity of the Republic of Armenia.

The Government aims to also hit teachers and education. The legislative guarantee for the funding of education is being eliminated: 'The state guarantees the allocation of funds for educational needs in each new academic year, in an amount that ensures its forwardness. The percentage of funding for education in the current expenditures of the state budget should not be lower than the corresponding figure from the previous budget year' - Article 46.2 of the Law on Education of the Republic of Armenia.

Note: I would like to remind that these initiatives are unconstitutional, anti-state, and anti-national, and if the Government, along with its appendage 'My Step' faction, passes these legislative initiatives, then this matter must become the subject of examination by the Constitutional Court.