Duel Citizenship

[Armanen]

INSTITUTE OF DOUBLE CITIZENSHIP TO BE INTRODUCED IN ARMENIA

Arminfo
2007-02-20 13:51:00

RA Parliament has passed today a bill on introducing changes and
additions to the Law on Citizenship.

As RA Justice Minister, David Haroutyunyan, noted in his speech,
the bill envisages that a citizen of Armenia is authorized to be a
citizen of another state as well. Three categories of citizens may
claim to receive a double citizenship. The first group includes the
citizens of foreign states, who have reached the age of 18, who have
been living in the Republic's territory for the last three years,
who know the Armenian language and the bases of RA Constitution. The
second group includes the persons which married the citizens of
Armenia or have a child being a citizen of Armenia.

The third group includes persons who have earlier been the citizens
of Armenia or a person born in the RA territory who, upon reaching
the age of 18, was authorized to address the relevant bodies to get
the Republic's citizenship.

The bill allows to give a citizenship to all the Armenians and to
all those who refused of RA citizenship after January 1, 1995.

The document also envisages to give a citizenship for exclusive
deserts before the country and then people. The citizens of Armenia,
who wish to get a citizenship of another state, have to notify the
relevant authoritative bodies about it. The positions in the Republic's
territory are taken only by the citizens of Armenia. The bill lays
down that the persons who had lost the citizenship of Armenia before
January 1, 1995, receive privileges also at the receipt of the
Republic's citizenship. The terms of considering the applications
for another categories of persons is fixed by 10 days.

[Armanen]

ARMENIAN COALITION DIVIDED OVER DUAL CITIZENSHIP
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 22 2007

Armenia's governing coalition remained divided on Thursday over key
provisions of draft legislation allowing foreign nationals of Armenian
descent to become Armenian citizens.

A package of bills endorsed by the government and championed by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) regulates practical
modalities of dual citizenship, which was effectively introduced in
Armenia in November 2005 as part of a controversial constitutional
reform.

The National Assembly passed them in the first reading earlier this
week amid serious misgivings voiced by lawmakers representing virtually
all other parliamentary parties, including Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian's Republican Party (HHK). They are particularly unhappy with
a provision that gives dual citizens living outside Armenia voting
rights. Some of them have also accused Dashnaktsutyun, which has many
supporters in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, of seeking additional
votes ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

But leaders of the nationalist party have denied any ulterior motives
behind their strong support for dual citizenship. They say it will
boost Armenia's small population and strengthen its security. "By
failing to introduce dual citizenship we lost a major source of our
security," one of them, Armen Rustamian told reporters.

Still, parliament speaker Tigran Torosian and other HHK lawmakers
insisted Thursday on their draft amendments to the legislative package
that would enable dual citizens from the Diaspora to vote in Armenian
elections if they have resided and paid taxes in Armenia during at
least one of the pervious five years. "People whose fate hinges on
developments in other countries must not decide the fate of people
living in Armenia," Torosian said at the end of heated parliament
debates on the issue.

Opposition deputies made similar arguments. "People living abroad must
not have the right to predetermine the fate of the people living in
Armenia," said Grigor Harutiunian of the Artarutyun alliance.

For its part, the pro-government United Labor Party (MAK) said its
five parliamentarians continue to oppose the bills because they
stipulate that members of Armenia's government can be dual citizens.

The latter would only be barred from running for president and
parliament. "That would mean a partial loss of Armenia's sovereignty,"
said MAK leader Gurgen Arsenian.

Justice Harutiunian David Harutiunian, who presented the bill on behalf
of the government, rejected the amendments proposed by both the HHK and
the MAK. Harutiunian pointed to a constitutional clause which gives
equal rights to all Armenian citizens. "Besides, we can't check who
has or has not lived in our country for more than 183 days," he said.

While voicing strong objections, HHK leaders did not say whether
they their faction, the largest in the National Assembly, will vote
for the draft laws in the second reading. The vote is scheduled
for Monday. Markarian and other HHK ministers have not yet publicly
commented on the debate.

[Armanen]

PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTERS MUST NOT HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP, MAK BELIEVES

Panorama.am
19:30 21/02/2007

United Working Party (MAK) voted against the package of legal acts
submitted by the government yesterday and proposed recommendation
to the government. The package included Law on Dual Citizenship,
which caused the protest of MAK.

Grigor Ghonjenyan, secretary of MAK block, says his party has made
recommendations saying some restrictions must be made in the law,
particularly that people with dual citizenship should not become a
prime minister or a member of government.

Hovanes Igityan, member of Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) board,
said that in fact the people with dual citizenship are citizens of
Armenia and must enjoy the rights of the Armenian constitutions. He
believes that many will apply to the Constitutional court to consider
the restriction invalid and will eventually win.

Ghonjeyan cited the provision in the Constitution saying that he
rights and responsibilities of citizens with dual citizenship are
defined by law.

[Armanen]

Turks worried about RA Law on dual citizenship
23.02.2007 13:45

Vice-Chairman of the so-called Turkish “Organization to fight the ungrounded assertions about the Armenian Genocide” Savash Eyilmez told “Anatolu” agency that in compliance with “RA Law on dual citizenship,” the Armenian Diaspora that has been always acting against Turkey will be settled near their eastern border.

Eyilmez expressed deep concern that “Diaspora Armenians who have hostile disposition towards Turkey will play an important role in policy-making and implementation in Armenia.”
Noting that Diaspora Armenians will have a role to play also during the presidential elections in Armenia, the Turkish nationalist said the law will cause considerable changes in Armenia’s policy. Eyilmez expressed the opinion that “the cooperation of the Diaspora against Turkey will have a more powerful and influential nature in 2007.”

[Armanen]

THE MOTHERLAND BECKONS
by Emil Danielyan

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
Feb 28 2007

Armenia is about to allow millions of its emigrants and their
descendants worldwide to gain dual citizenship. From EurasiaNet.

Armenia's parliament approved a package of amendments 26 February
that gives millions of ethnic Armenians around the world the chance
to obtain Armenian citizenship without abandoning their current
nationality. The vote came after weeks of heated debate that exposed
major differences on the issue within the country's leadership.

Prime Minister Andranik Markarian's Republican Party, which boasts the
largest parliamentary faction, joined opposition parties in voicing
serious misgivings about the proposed amendments. They particularly
objected to a clause giving dual citizens a virtually unrestricted
right to vote in Armenian elections. In the end, Republican Party
lawmakers reluctantly voted for the government-drafted bill, apparently
under strong pressure from President Robert Kocharian, who had pledged
to introduce dual citizenship when he came to power in 1998. The idea
has also been championed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF, also known as the Dashnak Party), another member of Kocharian's
governing coalition. The nationalist party, which has many chapters and
adherents in Armenian Diaspora communities, is the only parliamentary
force that unconditionally backed the legislative package.

"Allowing dual citizenship means strengthening Armenia," said Hrayr
Karapetian, an ARF leader, at a 16 February news briefing. "It means
increasing our population [of 3 million,] reinforcing our army,
spurring investments in our economy, and, in general, utilizing the
potential of the entire Armenian nation for the benefit of Armenia."

Karapetian and other ARF leaders cite the example of Israel, which
readily grants Israeli citizenship to Jews from around the world.

Just like the non-Israeli Jews, the Diaspora Armenians, mainly living
in the United States, Russia, Europe, and the Middle East, greatly
outnumber the population of their historical homeland. Estimates of
their total number vary from 5 million to 6 million. Most of them are
descendants of the survivors of the 1915 mass killings and deportations
of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

The administration of Armenia's first post-Soviet president, Levon
Ter-Petrosian, opposed the concept of dual citizenship, prohibiting it
through an article of the country's post-Soviet constitution adopted
in 1995. (The ban was repealed as part of constitutional amendments
enacted by the Kocharian administration in a disputed November 2005
referendum.) Ter-Petrosian and his allies asserted that Armenia's
national security and independence would be jeopardized if its
citizens were allowed to have allegiance to other states. They were
also believed to have feared that dual nationality would translate
into a significant increase in the ARF electoral clout. At the time,
the ARF was at loggerheads with Ter-Petrosian's administration.

The major opposition parties currently represented in parliament
likewise see ulterior motives behind the ARF's strong support for the
politically sensitive idea. They have demanded that a final decision
on dual citizenship be postponed until after the May parliamentary
elections and the presidential ballot due early next year. Kocharian,
however, is expected to sign the bill probably next month.

ARF leaders have vociferously denied any connection between the bill
in question and the polls. In particular, they point to one of the
amendments stipulating that voters would be able to vote in elections
only within Armenia. This means that there will no longer be polling
stations at Armenian diplomatic missions abroad.

Still, the Republican Party appeared to share the opposition's
concerns; it insisted that residents of Armenia and its future
citizens living abroad must not enjoy equal political rights. "The
fate of the Republic of Armenia must be primarily decided by the
people who are aware of and affected by its problems," Parliamentary
Speaker Tigran Torosian, a leading member of the governing party,
told fellow deputies on 22 February.

Under an opposition-backed amendment proposed by the Republican Party,
a Diaspora-based dual citizen can vote in an Armenian election only if
he or she has lived in Armenia during at least one of the preceding
five years. Justice Minister David Harutiunian, who presented
the bill on behalf of the government, rejected the amendment as
unconstitutional. The only restriction the government agreed to place
on dual citizens is that they cannot run for president and parliament.

The final version of the bill says that such citizens shall otherwise
have all the rights and obligations of regular Armenian nationals.

The most significant of those obligations applies to men. They must
report for military duty in case of a war or mass mobilization. Those
dual citizens who are under 28 years old and have not served in the
armed forces of their native countries for at least 12 months must
complete a two-year military service in Armenia.

Whether many foreign nationals of Armenian descent are actually keen
to get Armenian passports remains to be seen. They have for years
been eligible for special 10-year residency permits that allow them
to live, work, and, unlike other foreigners, own land in Armenia.

Quite a few already have such permits.

Alex Sardar, an Armenian-American who has lived in Yerevan for almost
five years, welcomes the legalization of dual citizenship, saying
that it will give Diaspora Armenians a "very specific and tangible
connection to their homeland." Asked by EurasiaNet whether he himself
will apply for Armenian citizenship, Sardar said, "If I were to speak
emotionally, I would probably say yes. If I am speaking rationally,
my answer would be that I have to think long and hard about that."

"I'm quite happy with my 10-year residency visa and don't need Armenian
citizenship," said another Diaspora Armenian who moved to Armenia
from the United Kingdom in the late 1990s. "Actually, I am afforded
more rights here being foreign than I am being an Armenian citizen."

Having an Armenian passport should seem more attractive to hundreds
and possibly thousands of ethnic Armenians who have repatriated in
recent years from neighboring Iran and Arab states like Syria and
Lebanon. But ultimately, it is natives of Armenia who might emerge
as the main beneficiaries of dual citizenship. Hundreds of thousands
emigrated to Russia and other countries following the economic slump
of the early 1990s. Many have since become citizens of those countries
without surrendering their Armenian passports. They will now not have
to hide that from the Armenian authorities anymore.

[Armanen]

PanARMENIAN.Net

Dual citizenship - a step towards unification of the Armenian Nation.

The Israeli form is more applicable for Armenia, the 2/3 of whose
nation is spread all over the world.
28.02.2007 GMT+04:00

The RA National Assembly passed a bill on citizenship in its second
and last reading. 66 deputies voted for, 5 were against. Those having
dual citizenship may have a vote in elections in Armenia only if they
have residence registration in their own name. This stipulation also
anticipates those citizens' registration at the enlistment
office. Those being 18 and over, and having permanent residence in
Armenia over the last 3 years, capable of expressing themselves in
Armenian and being familiar with the country's Constitution may be
granted Armenian citizenship.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Besides Armenian citizenship may be obtained when
either the husband or the wife is Armenian or the child of a married
couples has Armenian citizenship, or when one has Armenian
origins. Those having been revoked the Armenian citizenship after
January 1, 1995 may also obtain Armenian citizenship. According to the
Document, request for obtaining Armenian citizenship may be turned
down for those who are of some danger to the national or public
security. Revocation of the citizenship is not necessarily to be
founded. According to law, anyone having dual citizenship may serve
in the Armenian Army, however, if they have done their military
service in another country for minimum 12 months, or have done
alternative military service for 18 months minimum, they have the
right not to serve in the Armenian Army. Parliamentary amendments do
not free the Armenian citizens holding the citizenship of another
country at the same time, from serving in the Armenian Army. Meanwhile
those having dual citizenship may not put forward once candidacy for
President or NA Deputy. They cannot be Member of Constitutional Court
either.

The institute of dual citizenship has been functioning for a rather
long time, so it is well known to international and constitutional
right in all its aspects, as well as in the way it is implemented.
Countries recognizing dual citizenship, must sign a contract, where
the salvations of all possible disputable questions are
stipulated. Only after signing this contract dual citizenship may be
applied in the given country. This means that if Armenia doesn't have
the above mentioned contract with, suppose, USA or Great Britain, dual
citizenship will be merely declarative for the Diaspora in these
countries. In 1940 in the USA bill on Citizenship was passed, which
limited the rights of the American citizens taking part in the
elections of another country. Those having dual citizenship must pay
the bills according to the laws of both countries, if no contract of
tax avoidance is signed between those two countries. Being within the
boarders of one country, the dual citizenship holder may not count on
the protection of the other country's Government. Similar laws are
also applied in Great Britain. If one holds citizenship of a different
country, he doesn't lose the citizenship of Great Britain. Even if one
is granted UK citizenship and at the same time holds citizenship of
another country, which doesn't recognize dual citizenship, the
Government of this country has the right to demand renouncement of the
UK citizenship.

The Israeli form is more applicable for Armenia, the 2/3 of whose
nation is spread all over the world. The Declaration of Independence
of Israel, adopted in 1948, states; ` The State of Israel will be open
to Jewish immigration and will receive all the Jews spread all over
the world; it will strain every effort for the development of the
country for the welfare of its people.' In fact any Jew arriving in
Israel from another country may obtain Israeli passport without any
bureaucratic protractions, not being obligated to renounce the first
citizenship. As for taxes, according to unwritten law every Jew
assigns his so-called `1/10' to the Government.
«PanARMENIAN.Net» analytical department

[arziv]

This dual citizenship duduk has been playing its soporific melody since 1998.

All talk, gaseous pronouncements and nothing gets delivered. Trust the charlatans in parliament to deliberate these matter for years to come. The majority of the parrots in the chambers of parliament would be looking at "precedents", what this or that nation did in regard to its own ethnics. And the irony is that they'll find a paucity of models to copy from because today's world and today's nation states ( with the exception of one) are all governed by anti nation, anti national, anti racist, blood polluting, policies and regulations.

I doubt very much, if in this vitiated climate of international putrefaction, anything originally armenian , for armenians only, would come out from those overfed body of legislators cushioning their bums in the seats of parliament.

Whatever law they wish to pass these marionettes in the national assembly will be looking over their shoulders to their "brothers" abroad to get a stamp of approval or comply within the parameters of their ideology.

One would have thought or imagined that the sole requisite to have an armenian document would be based simply on the law of "jus sanguinius" regardless of where the person lives, provided the armenian in question wishes to be acknowledged and recognized as such. ( I know many armenians living abroad whcih seem reticent to acknolwedge their origins; these kind will not be forming long queues to obtain a document)

An ethnic state, an ethnic nation for its own documented ethnics worldwide. But no, that is not likely to happen, other political interests are now in play and the filthy waters of murky politics will marr any progress toward the "dual citizenship" target.