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WORDS WORTH: VERBAL INSULTS BECOMING THE NORM IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/47035/armenian_parliament_aram_manukyan_vardan_ayvazyan_ gohar_veziryan
POLITICS | 19.06.13 | 15:58
Photolure
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Another breach of ethics at the parliament of Armenia, when during a
heated argument a law-maker and a reporter exchanged obscenities, has
become the "hit" among the most discussed subjects in the local media.
The argument was sparked off by Armenian National Congress (ANC)
faction secretary Aram Manukyan's suggestion, made during the Tuesday
heated discussion of the Control Chamber's report for 2012, that a
commission be created to study all the cases and identify those that
should be referred to the Prosecutor General's office.
Manukyan also suggested that Republican Vardan Ayvazyan be among the
commission-to-be members: "a clean and impeccable parliamentarian,
multiparty-affiliated, lord of the mines". (Ayvazyan was minister
of environmental protection between 2001 and 2007, was/is greatly
involved in mining, and his tenure stood out for most scandalous
deals in the related field).
After the parliament session in the corridor of the National Assembly,
Ayvazyan started an argument with Manukyan, saying he "had a diploma of
honors, but had to work as a loader" and as opposed to Manukyan did not
come and immediately start "working as a minister". Manukyan responded
that his only demand was to abide by the law and not to steal. At the
moment when Ayvazyan exclaimed "Show me what I have stolen, can you?!",
"Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun" (Fourth Power) oppositional newspaper
reporter Gohar Veziryan interfered by a remark that Hetq periodical
(doing investigative journalism) had written about it.
"What is it that Hetq wrote? They took money and wrote... What did Hetq
write, ha? What did Hetq write? Whatever it wrote I am giving to you!"
Ayvazyan said, yelling to the reporter, who countered back:
"You don't need to give it to me, give it to your president". The
conflict aggravated after this, the lawmaker told the reporter she was
"whimpering", and the reporter responded "you are the one whimpering
along with your entire family line" and called him a "bum".
Veziryan, who ran for the parliament in 2012 and lost, wrote in
her Facebook page after this incident: "I am awfully grateful to my
colleagues for reporter solidarity. Whether I have broken a reporter's
ethics or not is not at all important at this moment. I will never
allow anyone to hurt my dignity. I just regret about the choice of
word, it would have probably been more proper to call him "hambal"
[a diminishing word meaning "servant or very low-paid manual laborer",
with the reference to Ayvazyan's background as a loader]. As for all
the unnecessary discussions and speculations, I thank you all for
obliging me to keep working the way I have been so far."
In her interview to tert.am she said she was not sure yet whether to
turn to the Ethics Committee or not: "On the one hand I am thinking
nobody who has turned so far gained anything, so I am still thinking,
I don't know yet."
Months ago ruling party MP Mher Sedrakyan did apologize to a reporter
for hurling obscenities at him and threatening him with violence,
but his apologies, enforced by the ethics committee, did not restrain
others and failed to prevent such incidents from recurring. In fact,
exchange of insults is rather becoming a "tradition" at the Armenian
chief legislative body.
As for Hetq publication related to Ayvazyan's controversial activities
during his tenure as a minister: the periodical published a series of
investigative articles based on the fact that on November 6 of 2008
New York's Federal Court brought in a verdict by which Republican MP
Vardan Ayvazyan must pay $37.5 million to Global Gold Mining LLC. In
2006 the company filed a lawsuit against the then environmental
minister Ayvazyan accusing him of demanding several million US dollars'
worth bribe.
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/47035/armenian_parliament_aram_manukyan_vardan_ayvazyan_ gohar_veziryan
POLITICS | 19.06.13 | 15:58
Photolure
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Another breach of ethics at the parliament of Armenia, when during a
heated argument a law-maker and a reporter exchanged obscenities, has
become the "hit" among the most discussed subjects in the local media.
The argument was sparked off by Armenian National Congress (ANC)
faction secretary Aram Manukyan's suggestion, made during the Tuesday
heated discussion of the Control Chamber's report for 2012, that a
commission be created to study all the cases and identify those that
should be referred to the Prosecutor General's office.
Manukyan also suggested that Republican Vardan Ayvazyan be among the
commission-to-be members: "a clean and impeccable parliamentarian,
multiparty-affiliated, lord of the mines". (Ayvazyan was minister
of environmental protection between 2001 and 2007, was/is greatly
involved in mining, and his tenure stood out for most scandalous
deals in the related field).
After the parliament session in the corridor of the National Assembly,
Ayvazyan started an argument with Manukyan, saying he "had a diploma of
honors, but had to work as a loader" and as opposed to Manukyan did not
come and immediately start "working as a minister". Manukyan responded
that his only demand was to abide by the law and not to steal. At the
moment when Ayvazyan exclaimed "Show me what I have stolen, can you?!",
"Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun" (Fourth Power) oppositional newspaper
reporter Gohar Veziryan interfered by a remark that Hetq periodical
(doing investigative journalism) had written about it.
"What is it that Hetq wrote? They took money and wrote... What did Hetq
write, ha? What did Hetq write? Whatever it wrote I am giving to you!"
Ayvazyan said, yelling to the reporter, who countered back:
"You don't need to give it to me, give it to your president". The
conflict aggravated after this, the lawmaker told the reporter she was
"whimpering", and the reporter responded "you are the one whimpering
along with your entire family line" and called him a "bum".
Veziryan, who ran for the parliament in 2012 and lost, wrote in
her Facebook page after this incident: "I am awfully grateful to my
colleagues for reporter solidarity. Whether I have broken a reporter's
ethics or not is not at all important at this moment. I will never
allow anyone to hurt my dignity. I just regret about the choice of
word, it would have probably been more proper to call him "hambal"
[a diminishing word meaning "servant or very low-paid manual laborer",
with the reference to Ayvazyan's background as a loader]. As for all
the unnecessary discussions and speculations, I thank you all for
obliging me to keep working the way I have been so far."
In her interview to tert.am she said she was not sure yet whether to
turn to the Ethics Committee or not: "On the one hand I am thinking
nobody who has turned so far gained anything, so I am still thinking,
I don't know yet."
Months ago ruling party MP Mher Sedrakyan did apologize to a reporter
for hurling obscenities at him and threatening him with violence,
but his apologies, enforced by the ethics committee, did not restrain
others and failed to prevent such incidents from recurring. In fact,
exchange of insults is rather becoming a "tradition" at the Armenian
chief legislative body.
As for Hetq publication related to Ayvazyan's controversial activities
during his tenure as a minister: the periodical published a series of
investigative articles based on the fact that on November 6 of 2008
New York's Federal Court brought in a verdict by which Republican MP
Vardan Ayvazyan must pay $37.5 million to Global Gold Mining LLC. In
2006 the company filed a lawsuit against the then environmental
minister Ayvazyan accusing him of demanding several million US dollars'
worth bribe.