00:19A massive brawl has erupted inside Armenia's parliament, with lawmakers punching, kicking,
00:26throwing chairs, and dragging each other across the chamber in a shocking live televised confrontation.
00:33The violence broke out on October 29th during a parliamentary session in Yerevan involving lawmakers from ruling party MP Taren
00:42Chakoyen's ruling civil contract party and the opposition Strong Armenia faction.
00:48The confrontation began during a debate over the appointment of a member to Armenia's audit chamber, the body responsible for
00:56overseeing public spending and government financial accountability.
01:00Tensions escalated after ruling party MP Taren Chakoyen accused opposition figures of corruption and made personal remarks about strong Armenia
01:10leader Narek Karapetyan and his family.
01:13Chakoyen also brought up a controversial pre-election comment by Karapetyan's cousin about creating a so-called ministry to satisfy
01:22women, questioning why the family had not apologized for the remark.
01:27Karapetyan responded angrily, approached the podium, and a verbal exchange quickly turned physical.
01:34Within moments, dozens of lawmakers were involved in a chaotic fight.
01:38MPs grabbed, shoved, punched, and kicked one another, while several were knocked to the floor.
01:45Some lawmakers were seen with torn clothes and visible injuries.
01:49The violence became even more chaotic when Deputy Speaker Vahag Alexanian threw a chair towards opposition lawmakers.
01:58Chakoyen was also seen splashing a glass of water on opposition MP Garnik Daftian.
02:03Bottles were reportedly thrown, and furniture was overturned as the confrontation spread beyond the parliamentary chamber into the corridors.
02:13What made the incident even more extraordinary was that Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinian initially allowed the live broadcast to continue,
02:22saying he wanted the public to see what was happening.
02:25The session was eventually suspended, and parliamentary security formed a human chain to separate the rival lawmakers.
02:33Several opposition MPs suffered injuries.
02:36Strong Armenia lawmaker Andronik Gevorgian was seen with a bleeding nose, while Ruben Mikertarian's clothes were torn.
02:44An ambulance was also called to the parliament building.
02:48Following the incident, Rubinian blamed opposition leader Karapetian, accusing him of losing control and attempting to attack Chakoyen.
02:57Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also condemned violence in principle, but placed responsibility on the opposition.
03:05He went further, describing the actions of ruling party lawmakers as proportionate and justified, even defending the chair-throwing incident.
03:14The opposition, meanwhile, faced off against the ruling party amid growing tensions following Armenia's June elections.
03:22The incident has exposed the deep political divisions gripping Armenia, turning its parliament into the scene of an extraordinary physical
03:30confrontation.
03:31And as footage of lawmakers fighting inside the country's highest legislative institutions spreads, questions are being raised about the state
03:41of political debate and democratic institutions in Armenia.
