Armenian
News Network / Groong
Conversations on Groong: With Edmon
Marukyan
Hello
and welcome to the Armenian News Network, Groong.
In this Conversations on Groong
episode, we’ll be talking about the current government’s initiative to yet again change the Armenian constitution, we’ll discuss
the Artsakh Parliament’s bill on Occupied Territories, and other topics.
This
episode was recorded on Friday, February 18, 2022.
It seems like
every Armenian administration has a desire to make constitutional amendments to
fit the constitution to its political aims. The Pashinyan administration has
now launched its second effort to change the constitution, and so a new
commission has been selected by the ruling party, Civil Contract, to get the
jobs done.
At the same time,
only a few days ago the parliament of Artsakh Republic passed
a new bill, well it is now a law,
about its territories that are now occupied by Azerbaijan. The Artsakh
government says this bill is a response
to the Shushi Declaration that Turkey and Azerbaijan signed in June 2021.
To talk about
these issues, we are joined by:
|
Edmon
Marukyan, who is a lawyer by profession and the
leader of the Bright Armenia party (Լուսավոր Հայաստան).
He was a member of the fifth, sixth and seventh convocations of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from 2012 till 2021. He’s also a member
of the newly formed commission to amend the constitution. |
|
In early 2021, as
the Armenian elections were heating up, Nikol
Pashinyan expressed his position that Armenia should revert back to a
semi-presidential form of government. Since then, we saw the resignation of the
president, who complained about lack of constitutional powers. Various
political actors have weighed in on whether the parliamentary system currently
in place is working for Armenia.
Recently, the
Ministry of Justice has formed a new commission to amend the constitution, which is tasked with
investigating the need for constitutional changes. Mr. Marukyan,
you have been appointed as one of the members of this commission.
What requirements
have been communicated to the Constitutional Commission members, by the Prime
Minister, or by the Ministry of Justice, about what they want to achieve
through this constitutional amendment? At a high level, what problems are they
trying to solve?
● Do you have an opinion on whether the
constitution should be changed?
● Do you agree with him? What should be changed?
There is wide
concern in the Diaspora, as well as among the parliamentary opposition, that
the constitution may be changed to accommodate demands by Turkey and
Azerbaijan, such as dropping references to the Armenian Cause, or The Genocide,
from the Armenian Declaration of Independence and also the Constitution.
● What do you think about these concerns?
● Can you unequivocally state that you wouldn’t
support changing the preamble or break the link between the constitution and
declaration of independence?
In the past week
Artsakh’s parliament passed
an important bill
that it says is in response to the Shushi Declaration, and deals with a couple of important issues
regarding its Occupied Territories: One has to do about restoring the
territorial integrity of the Artsakh Republic; the second is about companies
and their countries that do business in its occupied territories without the
permission of the Artsakh government.
● What do you think about the new law?
● How can Armenia support Artsakh regain its
territories?
● How can Armenia defend Artsakh given the current
situation, and going forward?
You lead the
Bright Armenia - Լուսավոր Հայաստան
- party. In the June 2021 early parliamentary elections, Bright Armenia did not
do well and didn’t get into the National Assembly.
● Can you explain the poor performance at the
polls?
● How are you and the party preparing to overcome
these issues and return to the parliament in the next elections?
● After the catastrophic loss in the 44-Day war
and the capitulation statement, everyone has had their own “face the mirror”
moment. What has been your process of self-reflection?
● How can Armenia come back from this disastrous
moment in history? Do you think the right government is in place to do that?
Well, here is a
topic that doesn’t need a long intro. Not anymore. Turkey and Armenia have
appointed special representatives to conduct so-called Normalization
discussions to reboot political relations, open borders, trade, etc.
Certainly,
everyone we’ve talked to agrees that neighboring countries should talk to each
other and find a modicum of coexistence.
● What are your expectations of this process? What
does “Normalization” mean for you?
● What are the pitfalls and opportunities for
Armenia?
● Is now the right time to engage in such a
process, when Armenia is at its weakest since independence in 1991?
● Is this government the right government to
conduct such a process?
That
concludes this Conversations On Groong episode.
As always, we invite your feedback, Thanks to Laura Osborn for the music on
our podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Like our pages
and follow us on Twitter. On behalf of everyone in this episode, we wish you a
good week, thanks for listening and we’ll talk to you soon.
Edmon Marukyan, Bright Armenia Party, Լուսավոր Հայաստան, Armenia, Constitutional Reform, Constitutional Court, Nikol Pashinyan, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Occupied Territories, Azerbaijan, POW, War, Corruption, Serzh Sargsyan, Turkish Armenian Normalization, Borders, Parliament, National Assembly, Parliamentary System, Semi-Presidential System,
