I Will Send Urgent Letters to International Organizations - Takhuhy Tovmasyan

The chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, non-partisan Takhuhy Tovmasyan, made a statement:

“The government of Nikol Pashinyan, which has declared ‘democracy as the number one brand,’ has convened an extraordinary session of parliament to discuss the issue of recalling opposition members of parliament—Deputy Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee Vahe Hakobyan—from their positions. This is nothing more than a manifestation of political retribution under the conditions of Armenian ‘democracy,’ as opposition figures are subject to obvious political persecution.

The legal justifications for the draft decisions regarding their recall I leave to the judgment of legal experts: how reasonable is the recall process for expressing opinions or holding certain views? However, I find it necessary to emphasize the following: since becoming the chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, I have consistently stressed that while it is possible to criticize fiercely, one should never enter the realm of insult, which is truly condemnable from the standpoint of human rights protection.

At the same time, it must be stated that in a democratic country, it is the people who give voice to both the government and the opposition, and the issue of nominating candidates for administrative positions is determined collegially through political decisions and special resolutions. Therefore, the political decision to remove opposition deputies from administrative posts, made in the name of a significant number of ruling party deputies, does not yet signify absolute truth.

It could have been discussed in the format of an ethics committee, studying the issues raised by professional circles instead of seeking political revenge. Nevertheless, the draft decisions are in circulation, and in the morning, I will send urgent letters to all international organizations concerned with human rights protection and promoting political freedoms. I will draw the attention of many democratic countries around the world to such unacceptable behavior of restricting political freedoms.

Deputies who have come to parliament under an opposition mandate cannot be ‘punished’ for their opposition activities and for serving the public’s opposition expectations.”