A group of opposition lawmakers were forcibly removed from Armenia’s parliament on Thursday after occupying its podium in protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The incident happened after one of those lawmakers, Taguhi Tovmasian, refused to leave the rostrum after finishing her speech during a heated debate on the parliament floor.
“I will not allow you to again spread lies, cast doubt on Artsakh’s being Armenian or the history of the Armenian people from the country’s number one podium,” declared Tovmasian, who heads the parliament committee on human rights.
“Enough is enough. Sober up and accept your share of responsibility,” she said, urging like-minded members of the National Assembly to join her protest.
About a dozen other opposition deputies heeded her appeal. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian responded by ordering security officers to force the oppositionists out of the parliament auditorium.
The officers working for the State Protection Service (SPS), an agency providing bodyguards to Pashinyan and other high-ranking state officials, executed the order after a 4-minute scuffle with the mostly female deputies. The SPS chief, Sargis Hovannisian, was on hand to oversee the use of force condemned by the two opposition blocs represented in the parliament.
“They are now not allowing us to return to our workplace,” Tovmasian told reporters after the chaotic scene. “This is a blatant violation of the law, human rights and deputies’ rights.”
The debate, which began on Tuesday, was meant to center on the implementation of the Armenian government’s five-year policy program approved by the parliament’s pro-government majority in 2021. Pashinyan’s remarks on the conflict with Azerbaijan proved to be its main focus.
Pashinyan made clear that his administration unequivocally recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and is also ready to sign an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal that would commit the two South Caucasus states to recognizing each other’s Soviet-era borders.
Opposition leaders portrayed this as further proof of their claims that Pashinyan is helping Baku regain full control over Karabakh. Karabakh’s main political factions also denounced the Armenian premier.
Source: Azatutyun.am
