In an interview with reporters, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, spoke about the work of the Inquiry Committee for Examining the Circumstances of the Military Activities of April 2016. Third President Serzh Sargsyan had participated in the most recent session. Mirzoyan said that the parliament had organized Serzh Sargsyan’s arrival, entrance through the gates, and vehicles. “If you are interested in all the technical details, there is a separate entrance and hallway for the Speaker of the National Assembly, which Serzh Sargsyan was allowed to use. We did everything that was necessary.”
Regarding the committee, the speaker said, “The inquiry committee is working well. It is attempting to get into as much detail as possible. I do not know all the details of the committee’s work, but I know general information and I can express hope that the public will be informed of everything when their work is complete.”
When asked if the committee had made any discoveries and whether the opinion that the April War was an internal conspiracy is valid, Ararat Mirzoyan said, “They did make some discoveries. Let’s wait and see. They are listening to different people who were involved. They need to analyze everything and come to a conclusion. When the committee comes to a conclusion, we will know about it. I think that nothing should be unclear for our society regarding events that took place after independence. Any issue that the public wants to know about needs to be investigated as much as possible.”
The former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Yuri Khachaturov, refused to participate in one of the committee’s sessions. Mirzoyan believes that he made a mistake; he needed to go and present his side.
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The first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrossian, suggested that the work of the committee cease in his article because “it has caused a lot of tension in a country that already has a very tense atmosphere.” Ararat Mirzoyan responded, “I read his article and I have a positive opinion on it. Any citizen of Armenia is allowed to express their opinion. There are people who have authority and balance, and I will not deny that it is important to consider this individual’s authority as a former president and his opinion deserves more attention. I read Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s opinion, there are things I agree with and things I disagree with. I do not think that the part about the April War is worrisome and I do not think that there is a need to stop the activities of the committee. There is no legal way to stop their activities, either, to be honest.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
