VIDEO. "Are you seriously blaming the Ombudsman for that media terror, Ms. Karapetyan?" Arman Tatoyan

Ms. Karapetyan, what you said is an outright falsehood, distorting facts and highly offensive to the constitutional institution of the Human Rights Defender. Such messages from the faction are unacceptable, stated Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan during his final speech in the National Assembly, responding to the remarks of My Step faction MP Maria Karapetyan.

He emphasized that the Human Rights Defender has always been independent. Had it not been for that independence, the institution would not have been deemed exemplary from international platforms during the April-May events of 2018.

“Are you blaming the Human Rights Defender for that media terror? Are you serious? People live within the state's borders; they are in shock because Azerbaijani soldiers have entered their villages. Instead of the state working with them, it claims everything is normal. Armenian citizens should work together, rather than blame each other. However, Azerbaijan’s goal is to make the world believe that everything is fine, and they are saying everything is normal as well. But what about a state that does nothing and accuses others of media terror?” he remarked.

Tatoyan condemned the behavior of Public Television, stating that they conducted special monitoring and reported nothing from his statements about Syunik. He warned against attempts to distort the Human Rights Defender’s statements.

“Your speech contained outright manipulative statements. Ms. Karapetyan, I am not naive; I have worked in the government, international organizations, and civil society, and I understand what is happening. Let’s go and see what is happening at the border together. Have you asked what will happen if an accident occurs? Will our citizens be interrogated by Azerbaijan? Since you are a member of the ruling faction, have you inquired how to protect our citizens’ rights in such cases? Will they be arrested and turned into prisoners? This is a fundamental question,” he said, adding that water should not be poured into Azerbaijan's mill.

“Your speech was very offensive and an outright manipulative attempt to undermine the work of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia. You forced me to respond in this way; I did not want to get involved in this topic, and I held back last time as well,” he stated.

Regarding the insults, he said, “You speak of those insults, have you seen what officials are doing? I know all the evidence; officials are writing insults and liking them. That is a form of indirect violence. Those officials should have no connection with the state system. Where did they come from, and how did they end up in the state system? Can you tell me? What business does an inspector of market supervision have making sexual slurs against journalists online?”