Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian government today approved amendments to legislation regulating the rule of law during a state of emergency and administrative violations after it was withdrawn from parliament on Wednesday.
Recall, the bill regulating the rule of law during a state of emergency allows Armenia’s Armed Forces to interfere in the work of law enforcement agencies to restore order during a state of emergency if police and national security forces are unable to cope with the situation.
Speaking about the amendments, RA Minister of Justice Hrayr Tovmasyan (pictured) said the main amendment is that armed forces can be called during a state of emergency only after undergoing special training.
Furthermore, according to Tovmasyan, armed forces will not have contact with the civilian population. The army will be called in to eliminate the effects of emergency situations, to evacuate the population, to move cultural artifacts and to protect specially protected sites.
Recall, the controversial bill was passed at its first reading in parliament with 67 MPs voting in favor, which resulted in a scandal in Armenia’s National Assembly.
Ahead of the Feb. 9 vote, Heritage Party MP Larisa Alaverdyan, insisting that there was no quorum, asked that a count be made of the number of deputies in attendance in the room. National Assembly deputy chair Eduard Sharmazanov said there was quorum and the voting began.
Later, Alaverdyan argued that Republican Party of Armenia MPs had voted in place of their absent colleagues. Though this news was sent to the Special Investigation Service, the National Assembly decided not to reprimand MPs who voted for others.