YEREVAN. – When Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan makes a provocation, he makes fun of the members of the council of elders during their speeches, and the people, in an emotional state, are unable to restrain themselves and give in to provocation. Naturally, the mayor is the initiator, but I think that the one who gives in to provocation must hold himself to account. Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia party and the head of its parliamentary faction, said this at a press conference today.

"Hayk Marutyan ridiculed the three members of the [opposition] Luys [faction at the Yerevan Council of Elders]," he said. "It is said that there will be temptation, but woe to anyone who will give in to that temptation. (...) therefore, it is very important here that there be the assessments by the media community and treatment. When the mayor was laughing, he was yelling at a council member's speech, did a camera show him laughing? No camera showed, and people thought that the council of elders’ member was speaking out of the blue.

Today the trend is to target the members of the council of elders and sanctify the representatives of the authorities."

As reported earlier, Edmon Marukyan wrote on his Facebook page that the Bright Armenia party was discussing the matter of recalling its only member in the Yerevan Council of Elders, Davit Khajakyan, and the expediency of the continuation of his activities in the council. Later, Marukyan noted that the reason is that they have no influence on the Luys faction, which has three members, of which only Khajakyan is from the Bright Armenia party.