Armenian Government In No Rush To Disclose New Constitution Draft

• Gayane Saribekian

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has pledged to try to enact the kind of constitutional change that Azerbaijan has set as a necessary condition for ending the conflict with Armenia. Baku specifically objects to a preamble to the current constitution referring to a 1990 Armenian declaration of independence, which in turn cites a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

It has made clear that it will not sign an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty, initialed last August, unless Yerevan removes the reference. The only legal way to do that is to adopt a new constitution through a referendum.

Justice Minister Srbuhi Galian said earlier this year that the new constitution drafted by her ministry will be made public in March. That has still not happened.

Galian told reporters on Friday that the draft is “not yet ready publication.” She gave no clear reason for the delay or set any dates for the document’s disclosure.

Galian also declined to say whether the 1990 declaration is referenced in the draft. Pashinian again spoke out against such reference last month. He continued to deny bowing to yet another Azerbaijani demand. Some observers say he is reluctant to publish the draft now in order not to give the Armenian opposition more ammunition in the run-up to the showdown elections.

The country’s leading opposition groups have pledged to scuttle the change of the constitution sought by Pashinian. They say that his continuing unilateral concessions only encourage Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to make more demands on Armenia and will not bring real peace.