The ruling party and opposition traded blows, as a political standoff following June\u2019s disputed elections continues<\/p>\n
The Armenian Parliament erupted into an all-out brawl, with ruling-party and opposition lawmakers trading punches and hurling chairs as deepening political divisions spill into violence.
\nThe confrontation broke out on Thursday after MP Taron Chakhoyan, from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan\u2019s ruling Civil Contract party, launched personal attacks against the family of Narek Karapetyan, the head of the opposition Strong Armenia faction, during a debate over the party\u2019s election campaign.
\nOpposition lawmakers approached the podium, triggering a scuffle that rapidly descended into a mass brawl. Footage from the chamber shows Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan, a ruling-party member, throwing a chair at opposition MPs. Lawmakers also reportedly wielded bottles, and one deputy was knocked to the floor.
\nAt least one opposition MP suffered a bloody nose, and another had his clothes torn, according to local media. The session was eventually suspended, but clashes reportedly continued in the corridors before security personnel intervened.<\/p>\n
Pashinyan blamed the opposition, defending his party\u2019s lawmakers and describing their response as \u201cproportionate and appropriate.\u201d
\n\u201cIf anyone thinks they can lay a hand on a member of parliament and hit them, we will simply break that hand. If necessary, we will break it with a chair,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n
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Opposition lawmakers accused Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, who was presiding over the session, of allowing the violence to unfold by failing to intervene. Armenia Faction leader Anna Grigoryan accused the ruling party of deliberately provoking the confrontation and suggested that the incident may have been orchestrated.
\nThe parliament is no stranger to fistfights \u2013 the clash on Thursday is reportedly the third this month. The incident comes amid an increasingly bitter struggle\u00a0between Pashinyan\u2019s government and its opponents following June\u2019s disputed parliamentary elections.
\nPost-election power struggle
\nPashinyan\u2019s pro-EU Civil Contract party won a decisive victory in the elections in June, which was viewed as a referendum on Armenia\u2019s geopolitical future. Two opposition blocs \u2013 billionaire Samvel Karapetyan\u2019s Strong Armenia and former President Robert Kocharyan\u2019s Armenia Alliance \u2013 entered parliament, while Prosperous Armenia narrowly missed out, helping Pashinyan retain a constitutional majority.<\/p>\n
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All three opposition parties favor closer ties with Russia, a key trade partner that supplies discounted gas. Pashinyan has pursued EU integration while continuing to reap the economic benefits of ties with Moscow.
\nThe opposition has rejected\u00a0the election results, alleging widespread vote-rigging and pressure on public-sector employees and military personnel. Pashinyan has escalated\u00a0his attacks on his rivals, calling them \u201ccriminal oligarchs\u201d who serve foreign interests. He claimed that the newly elected opposition emerged through \u201cabsolutely illegal actions\u201d and threatened to bar them from political activity.
\nOpposition figures condemned the moves as a political crackdown, citing criminal cases against prominent rivals and plans to nationalize Strong Armenia founder Samvel Karapetyan\u2019s electricity distribution network. They also accuse the West of giving Pashinyan free rein to suppress dissent in exchange for his anti-Russia pivot.<\/p>\n
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Armenian Church leader faces historic trial amid feud with pro-Western PM (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
The political crisis is compounded by Pashinyan\u2019s escalating confrontation with the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the country\u2019s most influential institutions and a critic of his government. Pashinyan accused senior clergy of political meddling and having ties to foreign intelligence services, including Russia, which the church denies.
\nThe rift deepened in August with the unprecedented criminal prosecution of the church\u2019s supreme leader, Catholicos Karekin II. Opposition and church figures denounced the case as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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