Incident at RA Parliament 

ArmInfo. Another incident occurred on March 20 within the National Assembly of Armenia.

At a meeting of the National Assembly's Defense and Security  Committee, opposition MP Gegham Manukyan (Armenia faction) and  pro-government MP Vahagn Aleksanyan (Civil Contract faction) got into  an altercation. It all began when Gegham Manukyan raised the issue of  the use of police for political purposes with Interior Minister  Arpine Sargsyan. He pointed out, for example, an incident in which  300 police officers escorted 10 clergymen who had previously  supported RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's anti-church campaign on  the grounds of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin. The opposition member  noted that numerous video materials released by the media attest to  the number of police officers present. In response, Aleksanyan  counted 11 media outlets among the commission meeting participants,  only one of which was neutral. This did not sit well with journalist  Paylak Fagradyan, who attempted to engage Aleksanyan in a heated  exchange. "Who are you here to interrupt a commission member at a  meeting?" Aleksanyan demanded in a raised voice.

The journalist was defended by Manukyan, who, in an equally raised  voice, pointed out Aleksanyan's thieves' jargon. The latter returned  the favor, declaring that "your bosses and your bosses' bosses speak  this jargon."

The situation worsened after independent MP Taguhi Tovmasyan spoke  up, recalling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that if the  ruling party loses the elections, many journalists will be left  without work.  Aleksanyan did not ignore the MP's statement, noting  that the prime minister's assertions were based on facts. Gegham  Manukyan intervened again in the squabble, noting that 2,900 files  had been confiscated from his phone, which had been stolen by law  enforcement. He noted that he had filed a crime report regarding this  matter, which has yet to receive any response.

Committee Chairman Andranik Kocharyan had to make considerable  efforts to stabilize the situation, after which the National Assembly  members continued to question the Minister of Internal Affairs.