At the NA May 23 sitting, Tigran Torosyan, the NA Vice President informed that Gegham Manukyan becomes a member of the ARF faction, as Levon Mkrtchyan is now in executive power and there’s a vacancy in the faction.

All the issues, debated in the previous four-day sittings and the first day of this four –day sittings were adopted by the MPs by voting.

The government aims to restrict the privileges for “Yerevan Jur” (Yerevan water) company through the drafts on Defining Privileges of Environment Payments to “Yerevan Jur” CJSC and on Making Addenda to the Law on Environment and Nature Use Payments. According to Andranik Andreasyan, Chairman of State Committee on Water Management, informed that “Yerevan Jur” was established by the company “General Dez O,” chosen by contest and undertaking the use right of water system will start its activity from June 1.

The parliament debated 2 international agreements of political and economic great importance.

The Armenian government will receive 235,6m USD as a grant, according to the agreement “Millenium Challenge” signed between the RA government and the US, which acts through “Millennium Challenge” Corporation. 943 kilometers of road will be restored. The NA Standing Committee on Financial –Credit Budgetary and Economic Affairs endorsed the presented agreements. Hermineh Naghdalyan in its turn stressed that this program has 750.000 benefactors, who are villagers and are the 75% of the country of the republic. Frankfurt-on-Mayn Restoration Credit Bank will allocate 6m Euro credit to Armenia in the aim of the development of hypothec market development by the agreement on 2005-2006s Financial Cooperation between the RA government and the Federal Republic of Germany. And 2m Euro will be allocated for the development of community infrastructures. Sums are also envisaged to be allocated for the realization of those programs. Davit Avetissyan, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy informed the MPs that the credit received by the tariff of     0,75% will be allocated to the CB, which will be distributed to trade banks in 6-7 percentages. By the estimation of the specialists the percentages of this credit in hypothec market will be 12-13. Tatul Manaseryan and Aram Sargsyan, members of the faction proposed to postpone the ratification of the agreement during which they debated the role of CB in credit distribution.

Vahan Hovhannisyan the NA Vice President submitted a proposal of amendment to the Law on Holidays and Memorial Days, the authors of which are a group of MPs of the ARF and RPA factions. It is proposed to recognize the June 14 as a memorial day of the repressed. According to the co-authors the initiation is a late, but not a premature one. It is never late to do one’s duty and respect these persons. According to the Vice President this step is an estimation to executions, exiles and persecution realized during the soviet years. Though the industry and art have developed in soviet Armenia, the roots of disease goes back to those years notes the NA Vice President Vahan Hovhannisyan. Tigran Torosyan, in his extraordinary speech condemned the tragic events of those years, considering them inadmissible and inhuman. He noted that very often people who had genocide narrow escape and came to Soviet Armenia were blamed for being “Turkish citizens.” The NA Vice President informed that in OSCE a report is being prepared on deported people, when the Genocide fact will be mentioned.

The last part of the sitting, according to the NA Rules of Procedure was allotted to the MPs’ statements.