PHOTO: facebook.com/parliamentgeo. Georgian Speaker Archil Talakvadze.
The Georgian parliament on June 25, 2019 elected Archil Talakvadze, a ruling Georgia Dream Party (GDDG) candidate as its new speaker following the resignation of his predecessor after violent protests outside the building.
Archil Talakvadze was elected unanimously, with 94 votes to 0, as opposition lawmakers left the session in protest after the ruling party refused to discuss the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who they hold responsible for police using excessive force to break up the demonstration.
Assessing the developments on the protests, Talakvadze expressed his sympathy for those injured during the June 20 clash, and noted that the ruling party “does not intend to hand over political responsibility” to opposition. “After my election, I will spare no effort and will do everything to return the processes, among them, opposition, to fully working mode and to ensure busy, future-oriented and responsible policy,” said Speaker Talakvadze.
On the June 20 protests, he added that everyone who “triggered disorder” will be accountable, and that opposition leaders, who have been in the frontlines of these developments, will have to answer to the questions “who called on [protesters] to rush towards the parliament” as well as “who called on disorder and violence”.
On June 20, a group of opposition and civic activists gathered in front of the parliament of Georgia, condemning the Russian delegation’s presence at a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in Georgian parliament’s plenary chamber. Demonstrators demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia, release of those protestors who were detained, and detention of those law enforcement officers who exceeded their duties in containing the protest.
https://civil.ge/archives/310576
https://www.voanews.com/europe/georgian-parliament-elects-ruling-party-candidate-new-speaker
PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Europe’s top human rights body, has voted 118-62 (with 10 abstentions) to allow Russia to return as a member to its parliamentary assembly on June 25, 2019.
In 2014, Russia was stripped of its voting rights over the annexation of Crimea. Russia threatened to quit PACE if it was barred from voting in Wednesday’s election of a new Secretary-General to replace Norway’s Thorbjorn Jagland. Exiting the Council of Europe would have meant Russians losing access to the European Court of Human Rights.
Since 2017, Russia responded by halting annual payments to the Council of Europe, which amounts to €33 per year.
PACE said in a statement on the same day that the assembly affirmed its members’ rights “to vote, to speak, and to be represented in the assembly and its bodies,” which “shall not be suspended or withdrawn in the context of a challenge to or reconsideration of credentials.”
After the resolution, head of Russia’s delegation and Deputy Speaker of State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy said that Russia will pay its contribution to the Council of Europe’s budget only after its powers are restored in full. He stressed that Russia will not tolerate any restrictions on its basic and other powers in PACE: "We are not planning to tolerate any sanctions against the Russian delegation, any damage to our powers."
On the same day, PACE also agreed on inviting the parliaments of Council of Europe member States "which are not represented by a delegation to the Assembly" (namely, Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) to present their credentials at the June 2019 part-session.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-starts-to-lose-its-nerve-on-russia-11561504497
https://tass.com/politics/1065414
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/06/25/russia-cleared-to-return-to-europes-top-rights-body-ukraine-walks-out-a66141
https://www.politico.eu/article/council-of-europe-backs-russias-return/
PHOTO: News.am. Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan (right) with Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Parliament of Vietnam Nguyen Man Tien.
Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received today the delegation led by Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Man Tien.
Speaker Mirzoyan valued the inter-parliamentary ties between Armenia and Vietnam and voiced hope that the parliamentary delegation’s visit will give a new impulse to further expansion of the partnership between the legislatures of the two countries. The Speaker also expressed hope that Vietnam will open its embassy in Yerevan soon.
Stating the fact that the parliamentary delegation he is leading is the first delegation that is on a visit to Yerevan, Nguyen Man Tien described the visit as brilliant evidence of the great interest that Vietnam has in cooperation with Armenia. “We highly appreciate the relations between the two parliaments and hope these visits provide the opportunity to use the existing great potential in other sectors,” Nguyen Man Tien stated and conveyed the invitation of the Speaker of the Vietnamese parliament to visit Vietnam.
According to the Vietnamese parliamentarian, Vietnam views Armenia as a country that can serve as a good bridge between Asia and Europe and expects to see Armenia be active and play an active role in several regional organizations.
https://news.am/eng/news/520484.html
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
