By Shoghik Galstian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Speaker Alen Simonyan has formally classified the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh after unexpectedly blocking their discussion on the parliament floor.
The pro-government majority in the National Assembly set up in February 2022 an ad hoc commission with the stated aim of examining the causes of Armenia’s defeat in the war, assessing the Armenian government’s and military’s actions and looking into what had been done for national defense before the hostilities. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the commission, saying that its primary mission is to whitewash Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wartime incompetence and disastrous decision making.
The commission chairman, Andranik Kocharyan, submitted a report on his findings to Simonyan more than a month ago. The document was expected to be mostly released and debated during a plenary session of the National Assembly later in September. However, Simonyan blocked the discussion, saying that the panel violated an 18-month legal limit on its activities. Kocharyan strongly denied missing any legal deadlines and insisted on the report’s inclusion on the parliament agenda.
Simonyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Thursday, October 2, that Kocharyan will be able to present the report during a parliamentary hearing to be held behind closed doors. But the speaker clearly failed to appease the fellow member of the ruling Civil Contract party.
A spokeswoman for Simonyan, Movses Harutiunyan, said on Monday, October 6, that the report has been deposited with a division of the National Assembly staff dealing with classified documents. Any parliament deputy with security clearance can read it there, he said. Kocharyan did not react to the announcement.
