Epress.am News from Armenia
A special meeting of Armenia's National Assembly on Monday to vote on the ratification of an agreement on gas prices between Armenia and Russia and the transfer of Armenia's 20% share in ArmRosGazprom to Russia began with the protest of several journalists. Holding signs that read "We are ones who decide," "Don't sell [it]," and "Come to your senses, dude" (pictured below), parliament-accredited journalists stood facing the seats belonging to the parliamentary majority — the ruling Republican Party of Armenia.
Journalists also tied black ribbons over their mouths as a symbol of powerlessness. Others expressed their civic position in the media room.
Before the vote, head of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) parliamentary faction, Levon Zurabyan, asked for a 20-minute recess. Another HAK MP, Aram Manukyan, told Epress.am that the purpose of the break is to consult with the four parliamentary factions. Earlier, HAK, the Heritage Party, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF-D or Dashnaktsutyun) had said they would vote against, while the Prosperous Armenia Party said it would not participate in the vote.
During the break, head of the Heritage Party faction, Zaruhi Postanjyan, began to remove the Republicans' cards from the voting devices without which it is impossible to vote. As a result, it was decided to vote by hand.
"As some deputies' cards have been removed, according to Article 61 of the Rules of Procedure [of the National Assembly], the vote will take place by electronic system, and if that doesn’t work, deputies will vote with their hands. It’s a shame that they don’t have intellectual aptitude; they try to upset [the meeting or the vote] with disorder," said parliamentary speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, referring to Postanjyan's actions.
