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During the discussion of Strong Armenia MP Liana Manukyan’s candidacy for chair of the National Assembly’s Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, an argument broke out between Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan and Armenia faction MP Levon Kocharyan.
The dispute began when Kocharyan, the youngest son of former President and Armenia Alliance leader Robert Kocharyan, was questioning Strong Armenia MP Hayk Farmanyan, who was presenting Manukyan’s biography, and used the term “snitching” in reference to filing a report with law enforcement authorities.
“...If I’m not mistaken, one of the MPs said that some kind of report should be filed against you or, in colloquial terms, hinted at ‘snitching.’ Is there any new information on this matter?...” Kocharyan said.
Aleksanyan (Civil Contract) interrupted Kocharyan and urged him not to use vocabulary associated with the criminal subculture in parliament.
“Mr. Kocharyan, excuse me, what you said is a component of the criminal subculture,” Aleksanyan said, issuing Kocharyan a warning.
Kocharyan objected to the deputy speaker’s decision, urging him not to interrupt and to allow him to finish his question, stressing that the context in which he had used the expression would become clear if he was allowed to finish.
“I am the one speaking now, not you. When I finish speaking, then you will speak,” Kocharyan said, addressing Aleksanyan.
Aleksanyan ordered that Kocharyan’s microphone be turned off and said:
“Mr. Kocharyan, I am speaking, listen to me. I am saying that what you said is discourse characteristic of the criminal subculture. There is no such thing in Armenia, and there is no MP who can call filing a report with the police ‘snitching’ in this chamber. If there is such an MP, his microphone will be turned off.”
The dispute was followed by another argument between Kocharyan and Civil Contract MP Arman Yeghoyan.
Aleksanyan also warned Yeghoyan, who continued shouting from his seat. Aleksanyan then barred him from taking the floor for the remainder of the session.
The latest confrontation comes a day after Aleksanyan removed MP Davit Ghazinyan from the parliamentary chamber during the August 19 session. At the start of the August 20 session, Aleksanyan said he had listened to Ghazinyan’s statements both inside and outside the chamber and concluded that there was some legitimacy to what Ghazinyan had said. He added that he would draw conclusions from the incident and stressed that self-reflection is an important quality for a political figure.