Armenian Ombudsperson supports establishment of Ethics Commission to  address inappropriate behavior of parliamentarians

ArmInfo.Armenian Ombudsman Anahit Manasyan  supported the idea of establishing an Ethics Commission to  address the inappropriate behavior of parliamentarians and constant scuffles among deputies in the country's legislative body. During a conversation with journalists on May 14,  when asked to assess today's scuffle between deputies from the ruling faction and the opposition, the Armenian Ombudsman noted that such incidents are a disgrace for the entire country, as they negatively affect its reputation.

"Given the events in the Armenian parliament, the creation of the  Ethics Commission will be an important step in addressing these  issues. I am confident that this commission will be able to resolve  many of the current issues," Manasyan added. The human rights  activist emphasized the importance of establishing such a structure  for its ability to effectively investigate such issues. "Currently,  neither I nor any other structure can investigate or give a final  assessment of violations of ethical standards, unless it involves a  crime, as we lack the necessary authority," the human rights activist  clarified.

Additionally, she called the very fact of what happened regrettable.  "It is regrettable for me that we can face such situations in the  country's parliament. We must do everything possible to avoid such  incidents. It is important to understand that the main issue is not  who became the target, but that such situations should not take place  at all," Manasyan said.

The Ombudsperson also pointed out that her criticism pertains to the  overall conduct in the National Assembly of Armenia. According to  her, both the ruling majority and the opposition, as bearers of  certain obligations, must prevent the emergence of such situations.  The Human Rights Defender refrained from assessing Prime Minister's  remarks, labeling opposition MPs as "bullies", noting that it is not  within their competency to assess such statements.  "The current  situation in the Armenian parliament is an unacceptable to me as a  human rights defender. However, there are competent bodies in the  country to handle the ethical aspects of officials' activities. They  are the ones responsible for addressing such questions," Manasyan  noted.

 Let us recall that another brawl took place in the Armenian  parliament today. The cause was the speech given by Levon, opposition  MP from the "Armenia" faction and the son of the second president  Robert Kocharyan. Vice Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan decided  to respond to his speech, and began to threaten Kocharyan from the  parliamentary rostrum, even going as far as to say that he would  "throw him out of the meeting room." This led to a verbal altercation   between the ruling party and the opposition, which eventually  escalated into a brawl.