What connection does the referendum have with the lives of people living in border regions? - Edmon Marukyan

The National Assembly's ''Enlightened Armenia'' faction today, on February 9, presents its annual legislative report.

Faction leader Edmon Marukyan stated that during 2019, they introduced 66 legislative proposals, of which 15 were accepted, while the rest were rejected.

Marukyan mentioned that according to recent surveys, Enlightened Armenia has been recognized as the party that raises the most regional issues.

“People living in border regions of the Republic of Armenia have no quality of life. Our country is constantly engaged in agendas that have nothing to do with these people's lives. Can anyone tell me what the referendum has to do with their lives? Is the government addressing these issues?” he emphasized.

“When I was an independent deputy, I fought for five years, saying - dear people, you are giving too much money to Yerevan, the quality of life here is very high. Let's take some of this money and allocate it to the regions to raise the quality of life there, as a result, people won’t leave their villages. Keeping people in their villages is a strategic security issue that the state must think about. If someone in the villages wants to go to the doctor, they come to Yerevan; if they want to receive a good education, they come to Yerevan; and if they want to have leisure activities, they again come to Yerevan. This means that people do not receive services related to quality of life in the villages, and they spend their little money here. Then they say yes, we collect the money here, that’s why we need to give it back. When they say that a person doesn’t work, they need to work and work will take them out of poverty, now these people are being shot at, he wants to work, so how should he work? The state must now support these people so they continue to live there, so that the soldier knows that these people are living behind him, not just 10 houses, but 100, a thousand houses,” he said.