Manukyan to Kocharyan: 'If This Continues, You Might End Up Dividing Plans Against Drug Trafficking'

“I never imagined that to determine the effectiveness of police and law enforcement actions, one could violate the law. Mr. Kocharyan, if this continues, you might end up dividing plans against drug trafficking; try to clarify whether the police can arrest anyone or not,” said Gegham Manukyan, a member of the 'Armenia' faction, in response to ruling party MP Andranik Kocharyan during a joint session of the permanent committees of the National Assembly on May 29, while discussing the preliminary review of the annual report on the implementation of the Armenian state budget for 2022.

Previously, Andranik Kocharyan had announced that to check the efficiency of the patrol police, lawmakers traveling in one vehicle exceeded the speed limit, and regional traffic police did not stop them, while patrol officers in Yerevan did stop them and issued an administrative act.

Gegham Manukyan remarked that it creates an impression that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia is a law enforcement service. “The Ministry of Internal Affairs has various subdivisions, including the red and black berets that beat the parents of the deceased, who have been applying violence against opposition figures, including MPs, for a long time and are not held accountable. The people of Armenia know by names how Haykaz Djomardyan has become the embodiment of lawlessness, and how one can wear epaulets and for a long time be an instrument of political oppression,” Manukyan stated.

The opposition MP also inquired during the discussion with Deputy Minister Ara Fidanyan, who reports on the implementation of the Ministry's budget, whether there is a figure on what percentage of newly acquired vehicles for the patrol service have been involved in accidents and are currently out of order.

Manukyan also asked if there is a comparative picture in the analysis of the budget performance regarding what percentage of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' budget was allocated in 2022 for securing Nikol Pashinyan’s transportation.

Fidanyan responded that the dissemination of personal data of police officers is unacceptable and assured that if there are cases of exceeding authority, they and other law enforcement bodies deal with those issues. He informed that there are 67 damaged patrol vehicles, which are mainly a result of subjective and objective circumstances.

In conclusion, Fidanyan assured that the police are exclusively engaged in maintaining public order.