Top Armenian lawmaker sorry for spitting at man who called him ‘traitor’
- Parliament speaker Alen Simonyan said he ‘lost his self-control’ after the pedestrian supposedly called him a traitor on the street
- Former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan has demanded Simonyan’s resignation over the incident
Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan apologised for spitting on a pedestrian this week, as the media flurry around the incident continued on Friday.
“I’m sorry, I lost my self-control because of an insult directed at me,” the 43-year-old wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The incident continued to spark heavy discussion across Armenian media outlets on Friday. Former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan was one of many demanding Simonyan’s resignation.
The incident occurred earlier this week, when a member of the public supposedly called the politician a traitor on the street. The politician ordered his bodyguards to hold on to the man and Simonyan proceeded to spit in his face, the man said later.
Simonyan himself did not deny the act, but initially said about the incident: “Get it into your head that your impudence will not go unanswered, an insult directed at the legitimate authorities of the state will receive a legitimate response.”
After the affair went public, the head of the National Assembly and leading member of the ruling party Civil Contract came under considerable pressure.