Speaker blames MP Narek Karapetyan for sparking parliament brawl

The Armenian parliament session resumed after a major brawl, with Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan addressing the clash between lawmakers.

“During the break, I watched all the footage and listened carefully to Taron Chakhoyan’s speech. I did not identify a single offensive remark in it. Mr. Narek Karapetyan, you failed to control your emotions, made offensive remarks from your seat, and then stood up and attempted to hit Taron Chakhoyan. Then, when the brawl began, Garnik Davtyan struck Taron Chakhoyan. Mr. Karapetyan, you are primarily responsible for what happened. You started this brawl by interrupting a lawmaker’s speech,” Rubinyan said, addressing opposition Strong Armenia faction leader Narek Karapetyan.

Tensions escalated in parliament on October 29 during an exchange of views on the election of a member of the Audit Chamber. The incident occurred while Taron Chakhoyan, a Civil Contract faction MP, was speaking.

Chakhoyan reminded Karapetyan that his cousin had yet to apologize for a statement made before the parliamentary elections in which he said that, if they came to power, they intended to establish a separate “ministry to satisfy women.”

Karapetyan began speaking from his seat and then approached the podium, triggering a brawl.