The harassment, insults, and threats directed at journalists persist in Armenia. A recent incident involved Hovik Aghazaryan, a deputy of the Civil Contract faction in the National Assembly, and Knar Manukyan, a journalist from the Zhoghovurd daily.

The journalist reported that on October 14, she interviewed Hovik Aghazaryan at the Armlur.am booth, asking the deputy to answer several questions regarding the corruption scandal linked to his name.

“After the interview, I thanked Mr. Aghazaryan on air for accepting the invitation and responding to my questions. Once the cameraman had finished filming, Mr. Aghazaryan expressed his desire to add a few comments. He indicated that he understood the reasons behind my questions and their direction. He linked my challenging questions to the fact that the founder of the Zhoghovurd daily newspaper is Taguhi Tovmasyan, an opposition deputy in the National Assembly. After Taguhi was removed from her position as Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, he took over that role and voted against her candidacy,” says Knar Manukyan.

Given that the MP’s comment was irrelevant to the interview topic and was not fully recorded, the editors chose to publish the interview without that segment.

The following day, on October 15, during a session of the National Assembly, Knar Manukyan questioned the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee, Sasun Khachatryan, about whether the pre-investigative body faced any limitations in holding members of the  Civil Contract party accountable. The inquiry was initiated after an individual testified against Hovik Aghazaryan, who is facing bribery charges. The witness claimed that the deputy had demanded a bribe from him. According to the journalist, Sasun Khachatryan entered the meeting hall after responding to the questions. Meanwhile, Hovik Aghazaryan, waiting in the corridor, began insulting her.

“He had heard that I had been discussing his issue with the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee and immediately began saying things to me like, ‘You are disgusting,’ ‘You are a scoundrel,’ and ‘You are worse than a Persian.’ He threatened me, saying, ‘You will see what happens to you; you will answer.’ He accused me of deliberately withholding the final part of the interview, even though it had nothing to do with the interview topic,” says Knar Manukyan.

On the same day, Hovik Aghazaryan issued a statement denying the use of the word “Persian” during the incident:

“I highly value the work of journalists, but I have never encountered behavior as shameful and disgusting as that of Knar Manukyan at the booth of the “Zhoghovurd” newspaper.

Setting aside the basic principles of hospitality, including questions based on deliberately distorted or falsified facts, I must point out that she has insidiously and unethically failed to publish the final part of the interview, particularly after promising to maintain its integrity.

During the incident involving Knar Manukyan, I said, ‘If it weren’t for that Persian beauty of yours, I would have expressed myself more harshly.’ This has been misrepresented,” was noted in the post.

 However, the journalist asserts that Ruzan Khachatryan, a journalist from News.am, and Vahagn Aleksanyan, a deputy from Civil Contract, were present during the incident.

“Vahagn Aleksanyan was trying to calm his colleague. He told my journalist colleagues that he had witnessed the incident but could not repeat those words,” says the journalist.

Several journalistic organizations have expressed their concerns about the incident, stating that the MP’s behavior should be investigated by the Parliament’s Ethics Committee, which has not yet been established or functioning for unknown reasons.

Journalist organizations demanded that Hovik Aghazaryan issue a public apology to the journalist and that the faction evaluate their collegue’s behavior.

Expert opinion

Human rights defender Zaruhi Hovhannisyan highlights Hovik Aghazaryan’s offensive and discriminatory remarks, noting that such discrimination is prevalent in our discourse, mainly targeting women, particularly female journalists. They face significant psychological violence.

“Discrimination based on nationality is quite common. Often, names from various countries are used to identify a person, with Eastern nations being mentioned more frequently. In contrast, names from European nations are rarely used in this context. This practice highlights a form of discrimination between nations.

Hovik Aghazaryan attempted to silence or intimidate the journalist by calling the name of one of the eastern nations, which, according to Armenian perspectives, is considered to occupy a lower position in the hierarchy of nations.

It is important to clearly establish that officials must not use discriminatory language in public dialogue or spaces. This principle is outlined in the ethical code of conduct for officials. It is essential to recognize that their speech directly influences societal attitudes and can reinforce existing discriminatory norms.

The only way to address the issue is to activate the Parliament’s Ethics Committee. Without this, no other mechanism for restraint will be effective, and this lack of control allows Members of Parliament to behave in the National Assembly as any ordinary citizen might on the street,” says Zaruhi Hovhannisyan.