I Do Not Fear Criticism, I Have Made the Right Decision. Alen Simonyan on Bonuses

On the occasion of Independence Day, bonuses have been awarded to members of the National Assembly based on a decision by the NA President Alen Simonyan. He stated this during a conversation with journalists today in Gyumri.

The NA President insisted that he does not fear criticism and is confident that he has made the right decision. "On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, all employees of the entire state apparatus, to my knowledge, will receive this payment, and I have decided that the National Assembly staff and deputies should also receive these payments," he said.

Simonyan noted that he had heard the opposition deputies' statements about returning the bonuses to the budget and then directing them towards various charitable purposes. Responding to the opposition, Simonyan stated that he does not consider it appropriate to bargain over this decision, as in his opinion, the opposition could have found funds for charitable purposes without waiting for bonuses, should they have wished.

"If they look within themselves, they can find a variety of funds they should have returned to the budget much earlier, rather than thinking about these few hundred thousand drams. And if they wanted to do something, I am confident they can find resources, for example, to build a school in some border village," he added.

Regarding the bonus system, Alen Simonyan announced that it is no longer the same, as they have managed to balance and organize these expenditures from the budget to some extent.