Armenian parliament committee debates opposition statement on 'national crisis'

The Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of Armenia’s National Assembly on Monday discussed a draft statement addressing the “national crisis and governance failure”.

Hayk Mamijanyan, head of the opposition Pativ Unem faction, presented the document, describing it as one that highlights “alarming and deeply painful facts for the country and people”.

Mamijanyan noted that although the authors initially considered adding two more points after submitting the statement, they ultimately decided to keep the original version. The first proposed addition would have further expanded the section on “Foreign Policy, Adventurism and Concessions”, particularly in light of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent statements on the Washington agreements. The second would have addressed “Democratic Backsliding and Human Rights Violations” referencing the "illegal conviction" of Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan last Friday, which Mamijanyan cited as another signal of democratic decline in Armenia.

The opposition MP said he would not reread the text of the draft statement, as public hearings on the issue had already been held. He emphasized that those hearings had “already contributed to the consolidation of the opposition groups”.

Mamijanyan clarified that the statement was not a motion of no confidence against the prime minister, but rather a document outlining Armenia’s external, internal and security challenges.