Chairs Thrown, Lawmakers Injured as Violence Erupts in Armenian Parliament

Armenian lawmakers exchanged punches, threw chairs and overturned tables during a parliamentary session Thursday, leaving several injured and forcing security officers to intervene in the second violent confrontation between government and opposition members this month.

The fight broke out between lawmakers from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party and the opposition Strong Armenia faction during a debate over an appointment to the Audit Chamber, which oversees public spending.

Video footage showed lawmakers pushing and striking one another as others tried to separate them. Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan was seen throwing a chair toward opposition members, while ruling party lawmaker Taron Chakhoyan splashed water on opposition lawmaker Garnik Davtyan.

Several lawmakers fell to the floor as the fighting spread across the chamber. An ambulance was called to parliament after legislators sustained injuries.

The confrontation began when Chakhoyan, responding to corruption allegations from opposition lawmakers, brought up the family of Strong Armenia parliamentary leader Narek Karapetyan.

Chakhoyan referred to an earlier statement by Karapetyan’s cousin about establishing a separate government ministry for women and criticized the failure to apologize for the remark.

Karapetyan responded from his seat, and the exchange quickly turned personal. Within moments, lawmakers from both sides were on their feet, pushing and confronting one another.

National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan initially refused to suspend the sitting, even as tensions escalated.

“I am deliberately not calling a recess so everyone can see this. The session will continue like this. Let everyone see,” Rubinyan said.

The confrontation continued for more than 10 minutes before Rubinyan called a recess and summoned parliamentary security officers. Fighting also broke out in the corridors outside the chamber.

Opposition lawmakers accused Rubinyan of failing to intervene before the dispute turned violent, saying an earlier recess and the presence of security officers could have prevented the injuries.

When the session resumed after a one-hour break, Rubinyan blamed Karapetyan for the confrontation, accusing the opposition leader of provoking Chakhoyan.

The violence came just weeks after Armenia’s newly elected parliament introduced rules intended to prevent precisely such behavior.

A temporary parliamentary ethics committee was established in August, with Civil Contract lawmaker Maria Karapetyan as chair and Strong Armenia lawmaker Lianna Gasparyan as deputy chair.

On October 5, the committee’s chair presented eight rules requiring lawmakers to respect parliamentary procedures, treat political opponents with dignity and maintain public trust in the legislature.

The following day, on October 6, a confrontation between government and opposition lawmakers forced another parliamentary session to be suspended and security officers to enter the chamber.

Thursday’s fight marked the second such incident in less than a month, raising questions about whether the new ethics rules can prevent further violence in Armenia’s parliament.

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