Aram Manukyan: HAK cannot cooperate with illegitimate authorities

Armenian National Congress (HAK) is a political team that cannot accept the proposal to cooperate with a prime minister appointed by illegitimately elected authorities, HAK faction secretary Aram Manukyan said during the discussion of the government program in the parliament today.

Speaking about accusations of HAK’s unwillingness to cooperate, Manukyan said that their party continues to mistrust the authorities.

“We do not want to cooperate with a prime minister who was appointed by illegitimately elected authorities. We are a political team and we mistrust you. As long as you continue to work in the same style, your attempts to involve us in these processes will be futile. You formed a government which is a continuation of the former one. How can we accept a cooperation proposal when we struggle against your programs? We have different approaches,” Manukyan said.

According to him, HAK is not to blame for the authorities’ failures, therefore HAK has no intention of sharing responsibility with the authorities.

“The consequences of your incorrect foreign policy happened through no fault of ours. None of my classmates remained in Armenia, they all left the country. What cooperation are you talking about when our comments and proposals are rejected?” Manukyan noted.

Addressing the prime minister, he said: “Mr Prime Minister, you speak about business and already use the phrase ‘deputy businessmen’. Instead of gathering in the government office, you should gather here so that we could also participate in those discussions. We always said that the executive and legislative branches should be separated so as to form a free competitive environment. This principle is accepted throughout the world. You say that 90% do not pay taxes, but you forget that the majority of non-payers are now sitting in this hall”.