I Have Interesting News for All of Us: Arman Abovyan

Former MP and member of the Prosperous Armenia Party faction, Arman Abovyan, has written:

“Well, it is very interesting to observe how everything that the citizens were fighting against becomes an acceptable daily reality for Armenia. It is also extremely interesting to see how the government, loyal to the so-called 'most liberal and free' ideas, is systematically undermining national and state security, the economy, Armenia’s territorial integrity, fundamental human rights principles, and is depriving their so-called 'proud citizens' not only of honor and dignity but also of their homeland.

But that’s fine, this is a bit lyrical, which is not at all interesting to the 'proud ones.' That is why I have interesting news for all of us.

The government has decided to sharply limit the right of the 'proud citizens' of the Republic of Armenia to free movement. I would like to remind you that the right to free movement is one of the fundamental principles in the context of human rights. And now…

A draft government decision on amending the government’s decision No. 821 of December 25, 1998, is set to impose a maximum two-year validity period for the passports of citizens of the Republic of Armenia, thereby implementing the directive given at the State Legal Committee session on 29.09.2021 (CA/174-2021).

Now the question is: why has the government of the 'people' of Armenia decided to sharply restrict the right of movement of the citizens they are so fond of right now? Do you understand? If passports are valid for only two years, the issue of long-term visas for traveling abroad (10 years for the USA, 5 years for Schengen) becomes very, very problematic.

In short, can we understand why the current government has decided to complicate the lives of the 'proud citizens' of Armenia in every possible way? Purely interesting…”