Tsarukyan Should Resign First

TSARUKYAN SHOULD RESIGN FIRST
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:22:30 – 04/10/2012

Next week, a few Russian senators owning private companies, will
announce resignation, Izvestia reports referring to its source in
the upper chamber of the parliament.

An open campaign on expulsion of businessmen from the parliament
is launched in Russia. In Armenia, which had stated prior to the
parliamentary elections that the future parliament would host no
businessman, still has a number of businessmen-MPs. This is why no
one believes the words of the prime minister who promises to find
solution to the problems in the sphere of state procurements. It is
evident that until the law forbidding officials run businesses does not
function in Armenia, they will use levers to promote their business.

Someone should be the first to announce resignation from parliament.

This person should be Gagik Tsarukyan, whose party criticizes the
government, calls its economic policy a failure, dwells on the
law breaches, but at the same time, its leader is one of the major
businessmen in Armenia who is still a Member of Parliament.

Gagik Tsarukyan’s resignation may become a real step by the Prosperous
Armenia in the fight against the systemic crisis. This may be also
a stimulus for the Republican Party, which may finally make its
oligarchs leave the parliament.

Several MPs have already resigned after the parliamentary elections.

Ruben Hairapetyan was forced to lay down his mandate due to the
Harsnakar case, Samvel Balasanyan assumed the office of Gyumri Mayor,
Raffi Hovannisian didn’t even provide reasons for his resignation. In
the meantime, we need a precedent of resignation for preferring
business to politics.

Gagik Tsarukyan’s presence in the parliament is unnecessary. His
party has an influential parliamentary group. Besides, none of
the oppositional parties’ leaders is in the parliament – Levon
Ter-Petrosyan laid down the mandate, Hrant Margaryan is never engaged
in the parliament, Raffi Hovannisian resigned. And if Gagik Tsarukyan
wants to be in the parliament for immunity reasons, then the story
with Vartan Oskanian proves that it is not a guarantee.

Prosperous Armenia is boycotting this current session of the
parliament, but the boycott is not an action, if the party does not
change the platform of its policy. For now, the RPA has only reflected
on events exceptionally related to it. The maximum it was able to do
was to criticize the government.

But it is time to go further and show how it is possible to respect
the law and separate the business and the power.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress