“We’ve had a good deal of criticizing each other and doing it quite mercilessly,” Pashinian wrote in a Facebook post accompanying a short video of the gathering.
The meeting took place amid alleged disagreements within Pashinian’s political team recently manifested in several instances, including the resignation of the justice minister and a heated verbal exchange in parliament between a top investigator and a senior pro-government lawmaker.
Earlier this week, media reports also suggested that a group of pro-government lawmakers might be seeking the ouster of senior Civil Contract member Andranik Kocharian from the post of the National Assembly’s standing committee on defense and security.
While some Civil Contract members approached by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Friday sought to downplay the differences within the party, others acknowledged the “merciless” nature of criticism during the discussions.
“I would not agree that the criticism was that merciless. It could have been much more merciless,” Narek Babayan, a Civil Contract lawmaker, said regarding the discussion.
“Yes, it was merciless, indeed,” said Armen Khachatrian, another member of parliament from Civil Contract. “The more honest [discussion] you have, the more merciless [this criticism] becomes,” he added.
Another ruling party lawmaker Hrachia Hakobian, who is Pashinian’s brother-in-law, stated that the party discussed “internal matters.” However, he declined to elaborate on specific issues discussed.
Hakobian shed little light on whether Civil Contract discussed the alleged move to oust Kocharian from the key parliamentary position. He said, however, that no decisions were made regarding the “internal matters” that were discussed.
Hakobian acknowledged that some of the issues discussed included possible displays of corruption within the authorities. “I do not rule out that there will be examinations on some issues,” he said.
At the same time, Hakobian stated that he did not see any indications of possible resignations in the time to come.
Khachatrian, meanwhile, ruled out the possibility of Kocharian being removed from his current position at the request of some lawmakers.
As for whether any criticism was directed at Kocharian during the discussions, he said, “Let me put it this way: the criticism in the speeches targeted all of us.”
Earlier this week, Kocharian said he was not aware of any move seeking to oust him from his current position in parliament.
“The source of such information must be found. I am not aware that there is such an agenda,” he told media on October 29.
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