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On July 13, in accordance with Article 120.2 of the RA Constitution and Article 48 of the Constitutional Law the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly convened a special sitting of the National Assembly by validity of law, the item on extending the state of emergency declared on 16 March 2020 and on Making Amendments and Addenda to the decision N 298-N of 16 March 2020 of the RA Government was included in the agenda.

The RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan informed that the Government made a decision, according to which, it is proposed to extend the state of emergency for 30 days until 12 August at 17:00 including.

Tigran Avinyan touched upon the military incident occurred in the part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, considering it inadmissible adventurism, especially amid pandemic. “I would like to make again audible from this tribune for the entire international community and reaffirm our official position that the power of Azerbaijan fully bears the whole responsibility of causing Azerbaijani losses and regional possible tension and instability as a result of such actions,” the Deputy Prime Minister underlined. According to the speaker, the Armenian Army carries out its problems with professionalism, self-respect and devotion, counterattacking the adversary’s provocative actions with dignity. “I call on our public to show maximum responsibility, spread exclusively official information, thus supporting the Armenian Army,” he noted.

Presenting the epidemic current situation, Tigran Avinyan noted that until now 32151 cases infected by coronavirus disease were recorded until now. 19865 patients were recovered. In fact, 11530 patients are getting treatment. In general, 135687 people had been tested.  565 people died because of coronavirus. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, at this moment 650 patients are in dire state and grave situation.

To the Commandant’s word, expectations are great that there will be no need of extending the state of emergency in Armenia. It has been noted that at present the Government observes the possibility of the legislative amendments related to ensuring protection of population in the situations of emergency and the sanitary-epidemiological security of population.

Tigran Avinyan has informed that according to the analysis of the experts’ group supporting the Commandant’s Office, by 28 June the coefficient of the virus reproduction is 0.8, which has a fall tendency. According to research, it has been possible to reach this result due to wearing a mask and the policy of following other rules. The weather factor was also highlighted. According to Tigran Avinyan, in case of such tendency maintenance it is assessed that at the beginning of September daily about 140 new virus bearers will be.

According to the speaker’s word, in the context of military general approaches of COVID-19 management, in harmony with current developments of the situation in the RA, the Commandant’s Office regularly works out and revises different scenarios. Though strategic approach of decreasing the spreading of the virus through the rules and discipline of the society was adopted for the near future, nevertheless alternative approaches are worked out, and the abrupt restriction of the contacts and the move are in its core.

The Deputy Prime Minister answered to three dozens of MPs’ questions related to the achievement of vaccine against coronavirus, the number of the persons tested for disclosing the infected ones, the organization of the distance education amid coronavirus pandemic, the re-launch of the airplane flights, the elimination of a number of lockdowns, providing medicine and food to the isolated persons.

The RA NA Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan has reminded that in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 48.3 of the RA Constitutional Law the NA Rules of Procedure, during the exchange of ideas only one representative from the Standing Committees and Factions can deliver speeches.

The Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Ruben Rubinyan spoke on behalf of the Committee. He touched upon the ceasefire violations in the directions of the RA Tavush region by the Azerbaijani armed forces that began from the afternoon of 12 July, underlining that despite the situation created because of pandemic, Azerbaijan provoked, which showed the bellicose essence of that country. Ruben Rubinyan reminded that simple and exhaustive answer had been given to the actions of Azerbaijan by our relevant institutions. In this context, Ruben Rubinyan referred to the response of Turkey: the latter expressed its unreserved support to Azerbaijan. “This means that Turkey presents itself as a Karabakh conflicting party and reiterates the fact that Turkey cannot have any international role which will be related to the NK conflict,” he said.

The representative of the Standing Committee on European Integration Viktor Yengibaryan also considered strictly condemnable the military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan, noting that that state despised the appeals of the international community, including UN Security Council on immediate ceasefire amid coronavirus. The MP has talked about the importance of declaring state of emergency, noting that in that case a Commandant’s Office is created, which applies a relevant toolset of the government in the given situation.

Tigran Karapetyan spoke on behalf of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security. He noted that in fact, the military-political power of Azerbaijan did not learn lessons from yesterday, made a target the village Chinari, underlining that the further response would be painful. The MP is convinced that the only way of the NK conflict settlement is the negotiation table, about which the

Armenian party has been saying for two years, at the same time being ready for any scenario. According to him, the Armenian Army has been sufficiently changed during two years, and it is able to strike any target on the territory of Azerbaijan. “This adventurism will have irreversible consequences for Azerbaijan,” Tigran Karapetyan said.

The Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration Mikayel Melkumyan also touched upon the bellicose steps taken by Azerbaijan. He noted that we had to wait for the CSTO response, because this was shelling on the RA state border, but not along of the contact line of Artsakh.

Speaking about extending the legal regime of the state of emergency, the Committee Chair deemed important the distinct evaluation of the extension. He referred to the conceptual, governmental and organizational blunders in fight against pandemic, voiced the problems of the economic situation, shutting down of jobs, the reduction of consumer’s level, social security and tax entries because of that. According to Mikayel Melkumyan, today the public life and the economy need involvement of large-scale borrowing means. It was noted that seven proposals made by the Prosperous Armenia had been ignored.

The Head of the NA Bright Armenia Edmon Marukyan also referred to the provocations of Azerbaijan, underlining that the day before our public showed again that they were unequivocally and undoubtedly consolidated and the rear of the RA armed forces was very firm. In this context, he emphasized the work of the foreign department, the effective use of the parliamentary canals in terms of awareness and advancement of the foreign political agenda.

Regarding the agenda item, the Head of the Faction has opined that hard social, health and economic situation is available, has spoken about the steps taken by the government. He particularly qualified inadequate and illogical the actions by the police during these days and called on the police to act logically while applying the restrictions. Edmon Marukyan noted that no solution was given in covering the citizens’ loans, as well as the red tape of the tax and customs bodies. In the issue of the draft decision submitted by the Prosperous Armenia, he has specified that they are for the elimination of the illogical restrictions.

As the Secretary of the NA Prosperous Armenia Faction Arman Abovyan assessed, Azerbaijan reaffirmed its anti-Armenian and anti-human posture, during these two days that state got serious anti-counter, but it was not sufficient. According to him, Azerbaijan has no goal to regulate the problem in civilized way.

The Secretary of the Faction has informed that they presented a draft decision, which proposes to announce invalid the restrictions and bans on implementing assembles or public events established by chapter 4 of the decision supplement of the March 16 N 298-N by the RA Government. The draft was worked out as a result of the debates with the extra-parliamentary Hayrenik/Motherland and Dasnaktsutiun parties. Arman Abovyan presented the content of the draft decision and the regulations being proposed.

Andranik Kocharyan delivered a speech on behalf of the RA NA My Step Faction. According to him, in the conditions of the health hard problems of coronavirus, the RA Government brought to the National Assembly a draft law on extending the state of emergency in the RA with expectation that the parliament would support the fulfillment of this proposal. According to the MP, besides the pandemic, after the events happened the day before Armenia has appeared at the centre of border tension, which seems to become of escalation character.

“It is evident that some forces and individuals appeared in the political field in such difficult moment, instead of helping the Government use the coronavirus and even the tense security background in different ways as a tool against the power,” Andranik Kocharyan noted. According to him, despising such futile efforts, irrespective of all kinds of provocations, the authorities would continue to act, being led exclusively by the interests of the national agenda. Andranik Kocharyan has underscored that the neutralization of the RA citizens’ health and any other security threat is the main problem of the Government of high legitimacy and the parliament that formed that Government. Thus, according to the MP, My Step Faction expressed its support to the executive body in implementing this initiative stemming from all-national interest.

In his concluding speech the RA Deputy Prime Minister, the Commandant Tigran Avinyan gave clarification related the MPs’ questions and speeches.

Afterwards, as a result of voting, the parliament refused the draft decision of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on Announcing Invalid the Implementation of the Events Designed by the Legal Regime of the State of Emergency presented by the Prosperous Armenia Faction. The decision was not passed with 21 for, 60 against and 0 abstained. Let us note that the NA My Step Faction voted against it.

The National Assembly ended the work of the special sitting.