New Delhi: Armenia’s National Assembly descended into a full-blown brawl Thursday, with punches, kicks and a chair thrown on the floor of the House — all triggered by a months-old joke about a proposed Ministry of Sex.
The fight broke out during a routine debate on the appointment of a member to the Audit Chamber. Ruling Civil Contract MP Taron Chakhoyan, while speaking from the podium, invoked a controversial remark made in February by Sargis Karapetyan, cousin of opposition leader Narek Karapetyan and son of Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan.
On a podcast discussing Armenia’s demographic decline and low birth rate, when asked about creating a Ministry of Sex, Sargis said, “In a strong Armenia there will be no dissatisfied women. As far as I know, you can’t solve demographic problems without sex.”
The Strong Armenia Party had earlier promised to establish such a ministry, with the claim that sexual dissatisfaction was driving activism by middle-aged women.
Chakhoyan said Karapetyan had yet to apologise to women for the remark. That set off Narek, who leads the opposition Strong Armenia faction. According to Armenpress, Karapetyan shouted from his seat, calling Chakhoyan “ara” — a dismissive familiar form of address.
The verbal exchange quickly turned physical. Karapetyan approached the podium and, according to Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, attempted to hit Chakhoyan. Opposition MP Garnik Davtyan then allegedly struck Chakhoyan, and lawmakers from both sides began shoving, grabbing collars, and trading punches.
The most dramatic moment — captured on the live broadcast was when Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan was seen throwing a chair towards opposition MPs. Rubinyan initially refused to suspend the session or cut the feed, urging MPs to calm down, but eventually called a recess as the brawl spilled into the corridor.
Ambulances were called to the parliament building. Opposition MP Andranik Gevorgyan was seen bleeding from the nose, while fellow MP Ruben Mkhitaryan’s clothes were torn during the scuffle.
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‘I support the actions of MPs’
This is the third mass brawl in Armenia’s parliament in less than a month, underscoring growing tensions between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract and the opposition.
Pashinyan himself defended his party’s MPs.
“I welcome and support the actions of MPs from the Civil Contract faction. Throwing a chair or something else was an appropriate and justified response,” he said at his weekly briefing.
Asked specifically, “With a chair?” he replied, “If necessary, we can do it with a chair, too. They need to know their place.”
At first, Rubinyan let the fight play out on camera.
“I am deliberately not announcing a recess so that everyone can see this. The session will continue like this. Let everyone see,” he said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later defended the fighting, saying, “Whether with a chair, with a table, or with something else, it was proportionate and right.”
He also commented on the opposition’s fighting skills.
“I assumed they were at least physically strong. Apparently, they’re not, he said.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)