I Exclude My Participation: David Tonoyan's Statement

The former Armenian Minister of Defense, David Tonoyan, has released a statement in which he specifically mentions:

“Considering the statement made by the chairman of the National Assembly's Investigative Committee (IC) regarding the 'limitation' of my participation in the committee's work, as well as numerous inquiries received from the media, I present my positions on the IC's activities and my involvement:

In conditions where my rights and freedoms are limited by groundless and illegal accusations, I personally and legally exclude my participation in the NA IC meetings. One of the most important reasons is that the information related to the 44-day military operations, as well as that preceding and following them, is classified, which I cannot access due to unfounded and illegal detention.

To answer questions in the commission with precise and complete facts, it is necessary to fully possess the aforementioned information, which is unavailable to me as I have had no connection to the Ministry of Defense since November 20, 2020, and I have also been isolated for about 1 year and 7 months due to a fabricated criminal case.

A ban is also placed on my direct communication with the media, thus limiting even the possibility of responding to public inquiries through journalists within permissible limits. The absence of independent experts and representatives of opposition factions in the IC sessions not only raises questions about the impartiality of its work but also provides fertile ground for the continuation of political speculation, defamation, and amateur gossip.

Finally, the chairman of the IC cannot be impartial in his evaluations, given the irresponsible statements he made about me and the Armed Forces after November 9, 2020, some of which were responded to by the Ministry of Defense on November 17, 2020, and November 19, 2020.

In a January 2021 interview with Mediamax, I addressed issues related to the 44-day war within permissible limits. As I said in my message on November 20, 2020, I am ready to bear my share of responsibility. Therefore, I suggest holding an open public session of the Investigative Committee with my and Nikol Pashinyan’s participation, during which we will answer all questions of public interest.”