Calls for Gagik Tsarukyan to Apologize to Journalists

A number of journalistic organizations have issued a statement demanding that National Assembly deputy Gagik Tsarukyan apologize to journalists. Below, we present the statement in its entirety:

On June 19, in Parliament, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan demonstrated again his inappropriate behavior towards journalists. In response to a question from Radio Free Europe correspondent Rouzanna Stepanyan regarding compliance with the law, he reacted angrily, saying in an aggressive tone, “Just go and obey the law with your kind.” Following that, using his characteristic vocabulary, Tsarukyan accused the journalist and her colleagues of performing various assignments and “talking nonsense.”

This is already the fourth instance in the past month where the same individual exhibits rude behavior and makes offensive remarks towards representatives of the media carrying out their professional activities. Moreover, during one of those instances, when he did not like a question from Aravot newspaper correspondent Hripsime Jebezyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party threatened that the journalist would still have to respond.

These consecutive incidents indicate that Gagik Tsarukyan, despite leading a party represented in the National Assembly for many years, still has not acquired the qualities necessary for a political figure—tolerance, the ability to communicate with representatives of the media, and restraint.

We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, express our outrage regarding the behavior of the leader of the largest opposition faction in Parliament towards journalists and demand the following:

• That Gagik Tsarukyan publicly apologize to Radio Free Europe correspondent Rouzanna Stepanyan, Aravot newspaper correspondent Hripsime Jebezyan, and all journalists he has offended, along with assurances that such behavior will not happen again in the future.

Furthermore, we call on the leadership of the National Assembly to address the behavior of Gagik Tsarukyan towards accredited journalists in Parliament and evaluate it from the perspective of parliamentary ethics.

Representatives of the Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Speech “ASPARAZ” and the Union of Journalists of Armenia join this call.