At a private session of the Armenian parliament on October 26, Gegham Manukyan, a member of the opposition Hayastan group, was forcibly removed from the rostrum by parliamentary security agency personnel.
Manukyan, a representative of the Dashnaktsutyun party, said in his speech, "Those who deny Nagorno-Karabakh are traitors. Just as the one who spoke before me recently said this in front of the media. Those who deny Nagorno-Karabakh are traitors." After Manukyan's remarks, Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, who chaired the meeting, interrupted him, urging him not to violate the rules of ethics of the Parliament and asking: "You used to call him a traitor, say his name."
Manukyan said he could quote Vigen Khachatryan. Rubinyan again interrupted Manukyan and said: "So you call Vigen Khachatryan a traitor?" Following that, the deputy speaker asked that the opposition MP's microphone be switched off and that Manukyan return to his place. The MP refused to leave the rostrum, but Rubinyan's security persuaded him to do so.
A few days ago, Vigen Khachatryan, a member of the ruling Civil Accord faction, said during a discussion on Karabakh: "The thesis that Armenia has no future without Nagorno-Karabakh is dangerous and will prevent us from guaranteeing the future of Nagorno-Karabakh."
He said that this is not a departure from the intention to solve the problem of Karabakh, but the ultimate goal should be Armenia, not Nagorno-Karabakh.
On 26 October, the Armenian Parliament held discussions on the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and demarcation. Discussions at the meeting were closed.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Kamo Kochunts and Commander of the Border Troops of the National Security Service of Armenia Arman Maralchyan.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan said that the issue was included in the parliamentary agenda at the suggestion of at least one-fifth of members of parliament.
Artsrun Minasyan, the secretary of the Hayastan parliamentary faction, emphasised the need for Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to attend the conference, claiming that there were concerns under his purview.
On August 17, Seyran Ohanyan, the chairman of the Hayastan group, convened a closed-door meeting in parliament to address the situation on the border with Azerbaijan.
