The pro-government majority in Armenia’s National Assembly has set up an ad hoc parliamentary commission tasked with investigating the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian called for the creation of such a commission on May 20 as he lambasted the Armenian judiciary and accused it of having ties with the country’s former leadership.
Pashinian claimed that “specific forces representing the former corrupt system” are also “using their corrupt connections to carry out false propaganda” against him in Karabakh. He suggested that they are intent on provoking a war with Azerbaijan, losing “some territories” to the enemy and blaming that defeat on his government.
Pashinian did not name anyone involved in the alleged conspiracy. He announced instead that “the time has come to form an investigative parliamentary commission to examine circumstances of the April 2016 war and find answers to a number of questions preoccupying us.”
Some opposition politicians and other critics of the Armenian government denounced Pashinian’s statement, saying that the prime minister is playing the Karabakh card for domestic political purposes.
The commission was formally set up late last week after 47 deputies representing Pashinian’s My Step alliance signed a petition in support of its creation. It will be headed by Andranik Kocharian, the pro-government chairman of a standing parliament committee on defense and security, and also comprise 10 other lawmakers.
The commission, which will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, is specifically tasked with scrutinizing the Armenian military’s response to an Azerbaijani offensive in Karabakh that led to the four-day hostilities, which left around 80 Armenian soldiers and volunteers dead. It will not only be able to question senior government and military officials but also have access to classified documents.
Four of the commission members are supposed to be named by the opposition Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Bright Armenia (LHK) parties.
Naira Zohrabian, a senior BHK parliamentarian, hit out at the parliament majority on Monday, saying that it did not consult with her party before setting up the special panel.
“Nobody from My Step approached us,” Zohrabian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Moreover, we learned from the media that the investigative commission has been created by the signatures of 47 My Step deputies. I regard this as [a manifestation of] a non-businesslike atmosphere in the parliament.”
My Step’s parliamentary leader, Lilit Makunts, dismissed the criticism. She said that the parliament majority has followed legal procedures and requirements regulating the formation of such commissions.