Heritage Party Proposes Constitutional Referendum, Preferably During New Government Term

The changes that have begun in Armenia, which some call transformations, are just the usual imitation which takes place in light of the great attention under which the country finds itself, head of the Heritage Party parliamentary faction Stepan (Styopa) Safaryan told journalists in Yerevan today.

Safaryan touched upon the two court actions the Heritage Party is involved in (the first, the Mar. 3 incident involving police outside the government building and the second, the case against Heritage Party MP Zaruhi Postanjyan’s brother, Tigran Postanjyan), saying that these are further proof that everything is an “imitation” and no actual steps are being taken. “The promises are in vain and futile and nothing more. Any consultation or promise of reforms is not real.”

“We still don’t see that there’s political will for serious reforms in Armenia. Let no one hope that we will welcome the resolution of the issue of assembly in Liberty Square, since, as we saw, this is provided to [political] entities that hold correct rallies,” he said.

The only way out of this situation, said Safaryan, is initiating a constitutional referendum.

“The way out of the defect of the current system, the no longer curable system, is the initiative of constitutional amendments,” he said.

Asked during the days of which government should the constitutional amendments take place, Safaryan said it would be desirable for everything to happen during the term of a new government, but it doesn’t end up being that way.

“It doesn’t end being so that you wake up one day and see a new, good administration, and for this reason, it’s necessary to achieve consensus through a wide perimeter for systemic changes,” he concluded.