YEREVAN. – Of course, you are fulfilling your constitutional duties very well, in your conviction, very well, for many, but you still have to come to terms with the fact that this or that aspect of your activities may not be satisfactory for this or that MP, and this is the right of the MPs. Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, stated this Tuesday in parliament, addressing the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), Arman Tatoyan.

"As the president of the National Assembly, to be honest, I also consider unacceptable your intolerant attitude, allow me to say, toward the speech, remarks by one or several MPs," he added. "You should be more respectful toward the NA MPs."

To note, Ombudsman Tatoyan, responding to the speech by Vagharshak Hakobyan, a member of the majority My Step faction—during the discussion of the Human Rights Defender's 2019 report, had said: "Mr. Vagharshak Hakobyan, next time don't dare to raise your voice to me, next time don't try to speak with the Human Rights Defender of Armenia from the position of the authorities. And next time, don't try to threaten Armenia's human rights defender. There are all the mechanisms of legal accountability. Moreover, you don't even know that the Human Rights Defender does not work according to the charter. I have nothing to discuss with you.”

Earlier, MP Hakobyan had noted in his address that he had noticed double standards in the Ombudsman's activities, and assessed his report as insufficient.