Ter-Petrosyan on Incident: Simonian Approached Young Man and Spat in His Face

The first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, published an article on ilur.am where he commented on a recent incident. He stated:

“As much as I tried to restrain myself, I could not help but address the disgusting incident that took place two days ago. A young man, seeing the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonian, surrounded by bodyguards on the street, loudly called him a ‘traitor’. Simonian calmly broke through the chain of bodyguards, approached the young man ‘with quiet steps’ and spat in his face, which, by the way, he proudly confirmed during his clarifications after the incident.

The act of spitting (except in the field of medicine) is inherently vulgar and entirely contemptible, especially when it is used even in everyday quarrels. However, when it comes from the lips of a high-ranking state official, and even more so when it turns into a specific action, it signifies the end of the state.

As for the word ‘traitor’, it is not simply a common insult or personal offense but a political assessment that should be countered not with vulgarities or spitting but with a correct and substantiated answer, especially since the authorities possess unlimited means of information and propaganda.

In the world, there has never been a leader of any more or less democratic state who has not been labeled as a traitor by their political opponents. It might be surprising to recall that even prominent U.S. Presidents such as Roosevelt, for conceding Eastern European countries to the Soviet Union, Truman, for failing to prevent the communist takeover of China, and Clinton, for weakening military power due to romantic ties with Russia, have been branded traitors by their political adversaries. None of them spat in the faces of their accusers but rather countered all such accusations with substantiated arguments, either personally or through their supporters.

Now, let’s return to the unforgivable act of the infamous head of Armenia’s sole institution empowered by primary mandates, Alen Simonian. Incidentally, the term ‘unforgivable’ here does not merely refer to a word; it implies that the National Assembly, and especially the ‘Civil Contract’ faction within it, has an obligation to initiate the matter of Alen Simonian's dismissal in order not to permanently lose its credibility before the people.

I am not exaggerating; his act is the greatest harm caused to the integrity of our state, which can only be remedied through his removal from office. This is the only way to restore our nation’s honor in front of the international community.

I urge all media outlets to spread this article and call on our entire society and political forces to join this initiative, and not through mass events, demonstrations, or marches, but purely through legal means,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan emphasized.