Nikol Pashinyan: We are not in a bazaar (video)
An unpleasant incident took place at the National Assembly on Wednesday after opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan began enumerating the businesses owned by some government members. In his speech, Pashinyan named the cabinet members who have large businesses in Armenia. “Wherever you stop in the capital center, you are told that [Prime Minister] Hovik Abrahamyan owns a space there. As for [Minister of Finance] Gagik Khachatryan, it is difficult to say what businesses he has. You think that corruption is an animal with tails? No, this is corruption! You have turned the country into a family-owned business. Armenia has only one brand and that brand is corruption. Many families in Armenia today cannot even afford to buy their daily bread. Yes, Mr Abrahamyan, you said that I cannot feed even one family. It is you who can feed families and not me. There was a time when I was in prison and my family kept me,” said Pashinyan. While the lawmaker was speaking, Republican MP Arakel Movsisyan made remarks from his seat. “We are not in a bazaar. Call him to order,” Pashinyan said addressing NA Chairman Galust Sahakyan. Then he addressed to Abrahamyan, saying, “If you cannot govern a country, you had better grow tomatoes, you are good at it.” After Pashinyan’s speech Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov made an extraordinary speech. “Today we have gathered here to discuss the government’s program which is very important for the public. We have not gathered here to talk smut. The National Assembly is not a place to insult each other. It is enough to repeat it. If you do believe that you will boost your rating by repeating the same thing for twenty times, you are mistaken. You cannot remove the thorn from people’s finger with populism. Make reasonable proposals instead of telling the tales of Grandma Gyulnaz,” he said.
