“I will curse anyone who doubts” – Language battle in the National Assembly

Today, a heated language battle broke out in the National Assembly during the committee meeting on defense, security, and internal affairs between opposition member Gevorg Gorgisyan from the “Enlightened Armenia” faction and ruling faction member Kristine Poghosyan from “My Step”. “Enlightened Armenia” presented a draft amendment to the law on procurement, proposing to make the expenses of the Prime Minister, the President, and the Speaker of the National Assembly transparent.

“We are being accused of trying to undermine the security of the Republic of Armenia, targeting the top officials. There were accusations that we have become close to the former government and have seen how they take showers with champagne. If anyone has such clear doubts, I urge them to contact the National Security Service, let them come and arrest us if any of us ever tries to harm the security of the Republic of Armenia. Just because you have 70 percent, it doesn’t mean that security belongs only to you. This is about disclosing procurement funds, and you are taking the issue to another field, exploiting the emotional domain of the security of the Republic of Armenia, and you are simply trying to kill this issue. Before the April war, we had a similar approach when they said that what is happening in the army is secret, we cannot see how the money is being spent, we cannot exercise control, and so on. The April war came to prove that all of this was wrong,” said Gorgisyan, adding that their proposal does not contradict the security of the Republic of Armenia and calling on them not to manipulate their words.

In response to his remarks, Kristine Poghosyan from “My Step” faction stated, “I officially say that you are a populist, Mr. Gorgisyan, and you are engaging in populism here.”

When Gorgisyan suggested limiting her speech because it was out of order, Poghosyan said, “You cannot forbid me to speak. You constantly exploit April 2016. If you wanted to discuss the issue, at least you would have had one discussion. And your bloc is the darkest part of the ‘Civil Contract’.”

Here, the committee chairman Andranik Kocharyan and Sasun Mikayelyan tried to calm the sides, but in vain.

Kocharyan announced that he was also to blame for the heated debate, stating, “Now I will put it to the vote, and we will see which is more important, the champagne or security.”

The bill was put to the vote and was rejected due to insufficient 'yes' votes. After the vote, Kocharyan asked that from now on, in discussions of other issues, the interests of statehood and security should be prioritized. “When are we not moving?” Gorgisyan replied.

“Right now, we are not moving,” Kocharyan retorted.

“I will curse anyone who doubts,” Gorgisyan erupted.

Here, Sasun Mikayelyan intervened again, trying to rein in Gorgisyan, whereupon Kristine Poghosyan also flared up. “What does it mean, ‘I will curse’? Are you in the street or in the office of ‘Enlightened Armenia’? What kind of speaking style is this?” said Poghosyan, proposing to remove Gorgisyan from the committee. Andranik Kocharyan disagreed and suggested moving on to the next item on the agenda or declaring a break to calm the tempers.