Member of the board of the "Civil Contract" party, former RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, referring to the events of "Surmalu" the other day, noted that as early as 2020, they discussed the issue of tightening the procedure for organizing fireworks. In 2021 the initiative was approved by the government and was sent to the National Assembly. According to the draft, fireworks would be allowed only in case of state and community events, and the free sale of fireworks was prohibited. On the air of Shant TV, Tigran Avinyan explained why the initiative was not implemented.

The former Deputy Prime Minister of RA proposed to separate the case from the legislative initiative. He mentioned that this tragedy was an occasion to return to the initiative, but connecting the incident with fireworks problems would be a mistake.

"There are much deeper fire safety and other issues that need to be shed light upon, and, I think, the initiated criminal case will give us some answers. And as for the law on fireworks, which the government adopted in 2021, it meant that there should be no fireworks at individual and private events. It is an accepted practice in the civilized world that fireworks are held only on public holidays, community events, and universal holidays. That foundation was laid in the project," Avinyan said.

Avinyan mentioned that there are two components. First of all, it used to be the problem of tranquility, but now we are witnessing a lot of questions related to the preservation of similar materials.

"If 4 tons of fireworks are placed in one place, it already implies certain dangers. Even more so, if they are placed in public places, you must be doubly, thrice careful and keep all safety rules. But this is one side of the problem. The Fireworks Prohibition Act generally regulated the field so that fireworks were only allowed at state and community events. That was the whole logic," said Avinyan.

He emphasized that he spoke with the co-author of the initiative, Sisak Gabrielyan, and the issue will be discussed at his initiative. According to Avinyan, a large field of businessmen organize fireworks on holidays and events, and they should be heard too.

"I don't see a room for compromise here. This is a problematic practice in all respects; I understand that it is ingrained in our culture, but if we want to change something in our lives, and we need it very much, we must resolve similar issues," said Avinyan.

He emphasized that the legislative initiative of 2021 contained the answers to all the questions; it implied the licensing of companies, and the solutions to the main problems were already included in the initiative.