Brawl in Armenia’s parliament: Pashinyan says he “supports” his party colleagues

Pashinyan on the brawl in Armenia’s parliament

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at his weekly briefing that he condemned violence but supported MPs from his own party. He added that being in the opposition “does not give you the right to get cheeky”.

Pashinyan was commenting on a brawl in the National Assembly between MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party and the opposition Strong Armenia faction. As usual, the parliamentary session was broadcast live, showing MPs punching and kicking each other. Deputy Speaker Vaagn Aleksanyan even threw a chair towards opposition MPs.

«Я приветствую и поддерживаю действия депутатов фракции “Гражданский договор”. [Швыряли] cтул или что-то еще — это была адекватная и правильная реакция», — подчеркнул премьер-министр Пашинян.

Он заявил, что тем, кто попытается применить насилие, власти «обломают руки». По его мнению, обязанность властей — не допустить в стране вседозволенности.

Защитница прав человека не согласилась с позицией Пашиняна. Анаит Манасян отметила, что подобные инциденты лишь укрепляют в обществе настроения, оправдывающие насилие.

«Парламент должен быть площадкой для демократических дискуссий, а не “полем боя”», — заявила она.

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Details: What happened in parliament

Tensions in the chamber began during a speech by Taron Chakhoyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract party. He raised the issue of corruption and mentioned former Armenian president and opposition Armenia bloc leader Robert Kocharyan and his associates.

Chakhoyan then addressed Narek Karapetyan, head of the Strong Armenia faction, and included his relatives on the list of people he accused of corruption. Karapetyan’s uncle, prominent businessman Samvel Karapetyan, faces accusations of large-scale money laundering involving the abuse of official powers.

“People mired in corruption are now lecturing us about corruption and fake news, claiming that their relatives have supposedly become targets of [government pressure]. Mr Karapetyan, it’s not my fault that your entire family is involved in politics, including your uncle, father and cousin,” Chakhoyan said.

He continued listing his accusations and reminded MPs that Narek Karapetyan’s cousin had once proposed setting up a government ministry to “satisfy all women”.

“You still haven’t apologised for that,” Chakhoyan said.

After Chakhoyan’s remarks, Strong Armenia faction leader Narek Karapetyan shouted something from his seat, addressing Chakhoyan with the familiar and dismissive term “ara”. Chakhoyan retorted: “You’re ‘ara’ from head to toe!”

The verbal exchange escalated into a fight. Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan urged those present to calm down. However, he did not suspend the session or stop its live broadcast.

“I’m not going to suspend the session. I want everyone to see all of this,” he said.

Tensions continued to rise. Deputy Speaker Vaagn Aleksanyan threw a chair towards opposition MPs, prompting Rubinyan to finally call a recess. The altercation continued for some time outside the chamber.

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After the recess, Taron Chakhoyan apologised to everyone who had witnessed the scenes in the chamber for the opposition’s behaviour. He described the opposition MPs’ actions as “hooliganism” and suggested that they had planned the incident in advance.

“If you think you can attack an MP and go unpunished, provoke a fight and escape the consequences, that won’t happen. You have just seen that for yourselves. You can’t provoke a fight and then run out of the chamber without getting hit back,” the MP said.

The ruling party blamed the opposition for the incident. According to the parliament speaker, Narek Karapetyan tried to hit Taron Chakhoyan, but another opposition MP, Garnik Davtyan, struck the first blow.

The opposition offered the opposite account, holding the ruling faction responsible.

“Ruben Rubinyan bears full responsibility for what happened. He encouraged provocations by the instigator, Taron Chakhoyan, and did nothing to intervene,” said Marianna Gahramanyan, an MP from Strong Armenia.

“We will break their arms” — Pashinyan

The prime minister told journalists that he had seen footage showing how the incident began.

“If anyone thinks they can raise a hand against a member of the National Assembly, hit them or do anything else, we will break that arm. I’m saying this plainly, without beating around the bush.”

Journalists asked, “With a chair?” Pashinyan replied:

“If necessary, with a chair. They should know their place. There are limits to everything.”

Pashinyan said opposition MPs were “reaping what they sow” because they had so far failed to respond appropriately or condemn the behaviour of their fellow MPs.

“That is how it will always be from now on. Whenever they behave like this, they will get the same response,” he stressed.

“Eradicate violence” — Human Rights Defender

The Office of the Human Rights Defender issued a statement on the parliamentary incident. It said that any acts of violence by public officials, including MPs, help justify violence and lead society to regard it as a normal way to resolve disagreements.

The Human Rights Defender called for an end to:

• Behaviour that involves or implies the use of violence.
• Any statements that justify violence.

“This incident must be subject to a proper investigation conducted in accordance with established legal procedures,” Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan said.

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Pashinyan on the brawl in Armenia’s parliament