Ex prime minister’s proposal ignored by pressure group

YEREVAN, April 9. / ARKA /. Ex prime minister Tigran Sargsyan, who resigned on April 3, tried to convince today a youth pressure group protesting outside the finance ministry in downtown Yerevan against transition to a new pensions system, to set up a working group and meet with  government representatives to discuss the problem,  but his call was ignored.

The pressure group called Dem Em  (I'm against) demanded that the ministry of finance withdraw the line on mandatory funded pension contributions from electronic reporting so that that employers have the legal right not to make the contributions.

"We invite you to a dialogue. We have prepared proposals and the government- set up working group is ready to listen to your suggestions," the ex prime minister told the crowd through a voice amplifier.

"We can not discuss legislative changes in square... You should form a working group to have your proposals discussed and also ways to implement them,” he said.

He said the authorities are ready at any time to discuss this issue, saying also that the protesters blocked the street, violating that way the rights of other citizens.

Before to end the protest the pressure group called on its members and supporters to gather again on April 12 in front of Matenadaran depository of old manuscripts.

In a related development, the parliamentary minority, represented  by the Prosperous Armenia Party, the Armenian National Congress , the Heritage Party  and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF),  called in a joint statement on the authorities to stop arbitrary interpretation of a Constitutional Court ruling that invalidated some controversial  provisions of the pension law.

The parliamentary minority parties also called on employers to not deduct pension fund contributions from their young employees’ wages. -0-