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In accordance with Article 100 of the RA Constitution and Article 41 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly constitutional law, immediately after the end of the extraordinary sitting convened on 18 April 2023, an extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly was convened on the initiative of the Government with the agenda set by the initiator on April 25.

Before starting the debate of agenda items, the deputies honored the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide with a minute’s silence by the proposal of the NA President Alen Simonyan.

With the suggestion of the Secretary of the NA Armenia Faction Artsvik Minasyan, the legislators stood and honored the memory of Artyom Poghosyan, who was killed two days ago by the enemy’s conspiratorial bullet, and the brave sons who died for the defense of the homeland, as well as those who died in the army, with a minute’s silence.

The debate of the legislative package on Making Amendment and Addendum to the Law on Regulation of Arms Circulation and on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Law on Licensing included in the agenda by the NA decision in the second reading will be carried out in a special procedure within 24 hours after its adoption in the first reading.

The legislative package on Making Amendment and Addendum to the Law on Regulation of Arms Circulation and on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Law on Licensing was debated in the first reading. According to the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan, it is proposed to postpone the validity period of the package until July 1.

Hakob Arshakyan highlighted the importance of having high-quality shooting ranges in accordance with international standards.

The Secretary of the NA Armenia Faction Artsvik Minasyan inquired from Arpine Sargsyan whether there was a decision of the competent body after the adoption of the draft on Making Amendment and Addendum to the Law on the Regulation of Arms Circulation, which set deadlines. The Deputy Minister stated that the delays in terms of the schedule were conditioned by the structural change of the Government, in particular, the formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Giving a speech, the deputy of the NA Civil Contract Faction Vilen Gabrielyan, who was one of the authors of the draft law on Regulation of Arms Circulation, said that the draft was debated for about 11 months, but after debating it with the Ministry, it was postponed until April 28 at their request.

The deputy of the NA Civil Contract Faction Zaruhi Batoyan inquired from the Deputy Minister about the actions of the police in one of Yerevan’s clubs recently. “As far as we understand, they were carried out within the framework of the fight against drug trafficking. It is out of question that the fight against crime should be tough, but it should not be accompanied by violence. Photos and videos have been shared on social networks, and employees are telling about the alleged violence against them. What information do you have about those testimonies and how legal were those actions of the police?” she asked.

The Deputy Minister informed that 2023 is, in fact, the year of the fight against drug addiction and all police units are involved in that fight. “At the moment, I cannot say whether violence actually took place or not, but in any case, we have reports from apparent victims.” Responding, Zaruhi Batoyan said that she will send an inquiry to find out whether there was violence or not.

During the exchange of ideas, the deputies touched upon the fight against drugs. In particular, it was noted that the ongoing struggle is not adequate to the created difficult situation. An opinion has been sounded that drug addiction has become very popular among teenagers as well, and it is a serious threat to national security today. There were some proposals to strengthen the fight against drug addiction.

The legislative package was adopted in the first reading.