Armenian Officials Walk Out of Parliament Hearing After Artsakh Lawmakers Are Introduced by Their Former Titles

Armenian government officials and ruling party lawmakers walked out of a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan on Wednesday after objecting to participants being introduced as representatives of Artsakh’s former parliament, showing a deepening dispute over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh’s displaced Armenian institutions.

The hearing focused on the economic, social and legal challenges facing Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan took full control of the region in September 2023.

Lilit Galstyan, an opposition Armenia Alliance lawmaker who chairs parliament’s Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee, organized the discussion. As she opened the hearing, Galstyan introduced some of those attending as representatives of Artsakh’s parliament.

About 30 minutes later, lawmakers from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party and several senior government officials left the hearing.

Civil Contract lawmaker Mariam Poghosyan said the introduction conflicted with the government’s position that no separate state institutions can operate in Armenia.

She said the government would not accept what it considers the existence of a “second state” within Armenia, echoing a position Pashinyan has repeatedly expressed toward former Nagorno-Karabakh officials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfC3cL3m3zo

Arega Hovsepyan, an opposition lawmaker originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, criticized the walkout and reminded ruling party members that Armenian officials had regularly visited Artsakh and met with its authorities before the region came under Azerbaijani control.

“Just a few years ago, you visited Artsakh and held meetings at its National Assembly,” Hovsepyan said. “Some of you sat at dinner tables and raised toasts there. Do not forget the past.”

She warned Civil Contract lawmakers that they would not remain in power indefinitely and urged them to consider how their actions would be remembered.

International law expert Ara Ghazaryan, who attended the hearing, compared the dispute over terminology to arguments Azerbaijan has made in international legal proceedings related to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ghazaryan said that during cases before the European Court of Human Rights, Azerbaijan had objected to the use of Armenian place names and documents issued by institutions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“From the very first cases, Azerbaijan demanded that the European Court not use the Armenian names or documents from state and public bodies of Artsakh,” Ghazaryan said. He added that the court rejected those demands and, in some cases, considered decisions issued by courts in Nagorno-Karabakh when reaching its rulings.

The confrontation comes during a broader battle over what remains of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian political institutions following the displacement of its population.

Pashinyan’s government has increasingly challenged former Nagorno-Karabakh officials who continue to use their previous titles or present themselves as representatives of the region’s institutions.

During an election campaign event in Yerevan in May, Pashinyan confronted a displaced Karabakh Armenian activist and warned against claims that a separate Nagorno-Karabakh government or parliament continues to operate in Armenia.

“Don’t you dare to say that there is a Karabakh National Assembly or a government in Armenia. I’ll root out all of you,” Pashinyan said during the heated exchange.

The dispute has also reached the courts.

Later in May, a Yerevan court allowed Armenian authorities to seize the building that served as Nagorno-Karabakh’s permanent representation in Armenia. Lawyers representing the former Karabakh leadership appealed the decision.

Pashinyan told parliament earlier this month that he expects higher courts to uphold the ruling.

The political fight comes as displaced Karabakh Armenians continue to face questions over housing, employment, citizenship and their long-term future in Armenia more than three years after Azerbaijan’s military offensive forced the region’s Armenian population to flee.

Wednesday’s walkout brought that dispute directly into parliament, turning a hearing on the problems facing displaced Armenians into a confrontation over whether the institutions that once represented them can continue to exist in Armenia.

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