‘Kuch’i Bazary’ Was the Worst Way for Arthur Hovhannisyan to Oppose Edgar Ghazaryan’s Statements: Ioannisyan

I find it difficult to say who is further from human rights: the opposition candidate for the Human Rights Defender Edgar Ghazaryan, or the secretary of the ruling party's faction Arthur Hovhannisyan. This statement was made by Daniel Ioannisyan, the head of the ‘Informed Citizens’ initiative, on his Facebook page.

“I cannot avoid stating that any person delivering a speech in the National Assembly has the right to declare that ‘the regime is criminal’ or that ‘the parliament is led by hooligans.’ These are political evaluations, and regardless of whether one agrees with them or not, no one can prohibit a candidate for the Human Rights Defender position from expressing such opinions (see Constitutional Court Decision 997).”

“It is even more unacceptable to use these expressions as a pretext to disrupt the session of the Permanent Human Rights Commission with a group of ruling party members. Moreover, it is ironic that the secretary of the ruling party's faction not only insults a specific individual (the candidate for Human Rights Defender) but also complains about the conduct of the commission’s meeting, when the main disruptor and the loudest voice is himself.”

“The macho threats and the style of ‘kuch’i bazary’ inciting confrontation were the worst way for the secretary of the ruling party’s faction to oppose Edgar Ghazaryan’s political statements,” he wrote.