25 January 2017, 03:37
Armenian political analysts doubt on quotas in parliament for national minorities
Provision of mandates to national minorities will not solve their problems. This opinion was voiced by Armenian political analysts questioned by the "Caucasian Knot". Members of the largest ethnic communities of Armenia welcomed the provision of quotas in the parliament to minorities.
According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, Armenians make 98.2% of the country's population. According to the last census held in 2011, eight ethnic communities are registered in the country, including the Yezidi, Russian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities as the largest ones.
Oganes Saakyan, an MP from the Republican Party and the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on State and Legal Affairs, said that candidates to the parliament from national minorities will be chosen by political parties.
Boris Muradji, Chairman of the Yezidi National Unification Council "Sinjar", believes that the mechanism for selection of candidates from the national minorities has not been completely developed. According to him, ethnic organizations do not have a mandate to decide who should represent them in the parliament.
Political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute, believes that such problems of ethnic groups as preservation of language and cultural monuments should be addressed at the legislative level.
According to Ruben Megrabyan, an expert of the Centre for Political and International Studies, the solution of the problems of ethnic groups cannot be separated from the problems of civil society. He believes that Armenia has no prominent politicians among members of national minorities.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
