Mr. Petrosyan, why are you stirring up a dispute? Debate in Parliament

During today’s meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, a heated discussion unfolded regarding a draft amendment to the Criminal Code of Armenia proposed by the Prosperous Armenia faction. The proposal aims to prevent cases of suicides in the military by suggesting stricter penalties for individuals whose actions may lead soldiers to commit suicide.

The substantive debate occurred until Gevorg Petrosyan took the floor. He made several remarks, notably stating, “I do not agree with the opinion that the location does not matter; the location is crucial because a person does not have the opportunity to act freely, to go to a peer and say 'I am being bullied, come and support me.' Besides, someone might joke with their peer, take their phone and write, ‘At least once, listen to me, end your meaningless life, leave.’ If they write such a letter five times, this person might decide that it is indeed correct.”

The committee chair interrupted the member, saying, “I understand that this matter pertains to having good legislation, but consider that the issue involves individuals whose children have become victims of such incidents.” Petrosyan continued in the same tone, arguing, “If there is also the concern that if people from outside are brought in, can we remove the term 'by the soldier'? In other words, should we derail the draft due to this one formulation?”

The question raised by the deputy surprised the committee members, as they had no such intent, prompting committee chair Vladimir Vardanyan to respond, “You are defending the proposal from those who support it.” Petrosyan, continuing his speech, addressed other issues, saying, “Today, when a person sends their child to the army, they worry more about internal pressures than about being killed by enemy fire. No matter how much you want to protect within, if there are dishonest people wrapped up in self-deception hugging falsehoods, who have forgotten they are under military rank, they pressure people; establishing relations with them is easier than with the enemy.”

Following his remarks, Nikolay Baghdasaryan responded to Petrosyan, saying, “Mr. Petrosyan, I always wonder why you incite debates; everyone has made some proposals, your colleague has accepted, and look at what sentences you use—people are using their imagination here!” Petrosyan retorted that there is nothing wrong with what he said, intervened, and engaged in a debate with the next speaker. When the committee chair interrupted him, asserting that there is no debate procedure, he replied, “Nothing, it's Parliament; it’s not a puppet theater.”