VIDEO: I Might Cry Right Now If I Had the Chance, Says Hayk Sargsyan

“The committee has blocked the bill. To say that I am disappointed or sad would mean saying nothing,” said Hayk Sargsyan, a deputy from the ruling Civil Contract party, in a conversation with journalists.

It is worth noting that in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security, Hayk Sargsyan's bill on “exemption from military service for a fee” was again rejected today.

During the committee meeting, Sargsyan stated, “My proposals are rejected with false patriotic rhetoric. Yet this bill is not only timely but also necessary. We have lost 30 percent of our annual conscription to the army solely due to the bill being rejected in the committee. If we do not pass this law now, we will continue to lose 30 percent of conscription each year. This is a bill against the rich, those who constitute 30 percent of the conscription and do not enlist, and later do not get called up for the 25-day gatherings; we are losing their citizenship irreversibly.”

According to the deputy, the failure to adopt the bill is due to the personal ambitions of the committee's chairman Andranik Kocharyan. He believes the reason is that the bill was discussed in Kocharyan's absence when he was out of the country.

“I believe the Prime Minister liked the bill; he couldn't have been against it, and the government would have voted for it,” Sargsyan said.

In response to the remark that it seems Kocharyan has positioned himself against the Prime Minister, Sargsyan replied, “You can draw such a conclusion from what I said... It is unacceptable to block an important bill for the state due to personal ambitions. If I had the chance right now, I might cry as well.”