YEREVAN. – Both the statement by the PACE co-rapporteurs and the statement by the president of the Venice Commission are addressed to the Armenian authorities, and both statements contain a certain call to the authorities in different terms. Edmon Marukyan, head of the opposition Bright Armenia faction, said this at today's meeting with reporters in the National Assembly.
"The first was aimed at preserving the recommendations on passing to the early retirement system [for the serving Constitutional Court judges], and the second was on the tension that exists today," Marukyan said. “Both statements were misinterpreted by the authorities and were interpreted in their favor. That is, when the authorities say 'we welcome that statement,' they want to cover up that whole part of the concern. I shall call it trolling. The power trolls the PACE co-rapporteurs at a high level, and then the president of the Venice Commission. They make fun of these people. And why do they make fun? Because if you compare how statements of this kind have been perceived before, it will be clear, too, because power is a legitimate power and is not constrained in any way, it shows that ‘I am a legitimate power and I don’t care about your statements;’ that is how I perceive it.”
He noted that the former Armenian authorities, for example, were afraid of such statements, they were trying to make some corrections, whereas these authorities are simply trolling and making fun of these people.
"But I must say that these people are also to blame, because if there is an opportunity in the statements to interpret them in different ways, then maybe our colleague is doing the right thing and making fun at a high level. (...). (...) they say to the authorities, 'the actions you take, and that is a bouquet of actions, it's an aura, a series of events and actions, that series,' they say, 'don't do it, you are creating tension with it between the two wings power and more, it contradicts our previously selected recommendations regarding passing to the voluntary early retirement system.’ But they interpreted the call as saying that the call is addressed to [Constitutional Court president] Hrayr [Tovmasyan], that they have called on Hrayr to behave, 'you’re going too far, already, it seems you are meddling too much there.'"
