YEREVAN. – We need to respect the institution of the President, the Prime Minister, the National Assembly (NA) and its speaker; and if we respect our institution, it does not matter who is there.    

Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan stated the aforesaid during a press conference on Saturday.

He commented on the question which Zaruhi Postanjyan—who is Armenia’s opposition Heritage Party NA Faction Secretary and member of Armenia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)—had posed to President Serzh Sargsyan in the recent PACE session.

“I’m not saying that the President did not go to a casino and lost [money]; this does not interest me. But by respecting the institution of the President, [with posing] such question among foreigners, I had an impression of a provocation,” Adibekyan stressed.      

He noted that one of the ways to punish Postanjyan may be filing a claim for making an unfounded statement and stripping the MP of her parliamentary immunity.     

“This lady should not be taken seriously. Today they are talking about her more than other important matters,” the sociologist added.

To the query as to whether the question she posed may raise or lower Postanjyan’s reputation, Adibekyan responded that it could rise among the opposition, but it will reduce among the pro-government forces and in general.  

“It turns out, ‘Let them say what they want about me, but they will not forget [me]. [This notwithstanding,] the President remains in his place, and if went to a casino, he will go again; if he did not go, he will not go,” Aharon Adibekyan stressed.        

To note, during the question and answer session at Wednesday’s PACE plenary session in Strasbourg, France, Zaruhi Postanjyan had asked Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan the following question:

“You have appeared here [in the PACE session] not by the will of the people, but [rather] as a consequence of organized crime, the theft of the Armenian people’s vote. Therefore you cannot de jure represent the will and right of the Armenian people. [So,] I’ll give you another question. Have you been to a casino in Europe and lost 70 million euros there? And who paid that amount in your stead?”     

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am