Saturday, September 29
“Hayots Ashkhar” suggests that the Saturday night attack on the editor and manager of the “Or” daily may have to do with its recent series of reports about dishonest practices in the imports of grain to Armenia.
“Our society has been weakened,” sociologist Gevorg Poghosian tells “Hayots Ashkhar.” “The public is physically weak because a large number of able people have out-migrated. A society that has suffered so many losses has been weakened so much that it is difficult to assert that it is able to perceive and understand new ideas.” People are now less likely to display a “civic stance,” he says. Poghosian also believes that for all its internal wrangling Armenia’s ruling coalition has greater chances to survive than the opposition.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” attacks opposition leader Stepan Demirchian for his decision to attend an official reception organized by President Robert Kocharian in connection the September 21 anniversary of Armenia’s independence. The paper claims that the public has been largely “indifferent” to that fact because it is losing faith in Demirchian. “This is not a great tragedy given the fact that the majority [of voters] elected him not because they very much wanted to have a president like Stepan Demirchian, but because they hoped not to see Robert Kocharian in that position.”
But in an interview with “Aravot,” Demirchian says that the people continue to pin hopes on his Artarutyun alliance. “We must do everything to live up to those expectations,” Demirchian says. “And that requires a responsible approach, not hasty steps. To those who keep giving admonitions, making calls and accusing us of indecision I want to say that nobody prevents them from putting their advice into practice by themselves.”
“Azg” comments that if economic ties with Turkey indeed held the key to economic recovery, neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia would have already solved many of their grave socioeconomic problems. The paper says one should therefore not look forward to the possible reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border. Ankara, it says, is in no mood to do that any time soon. Its recent overtures to Yerevan are simply an attempt to mislead the international community.
(Vache Sarkisian)
“Hayots Ashkhar” suggests that the Saturday night attack on the editor and manager of the “Or” daily may have to do with its recent series of reports about dishonest practices in the imports of grain to Armenia.
“Our society has been weakened,” sociologist Gevorg Poghosian tells “Hayots Ashkhar.” “The public is physically weak because a large number of able people have out-migrated. A society that has suffered so many losses has been weakened so much that it is difficult to assert that it is able to perceive and understand new ideas.” People are now less likely to display a “civic stance,” he says. Poghosian also believes that for all its internal wrangling Armenia’s ruling coalition has greater chances to survive than the opposition.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” attacks opposition leader Stepan Demirchian for his decision to attend an official reception organized by President Robert Kocharian in connection the September 21 anniversary of Armenia’s independence. The paper claims that the public has been largely “indifferent” to that fact because it is losing faith in Demirchian. “This is not a great tragedy given the fact that the majority [of voters] elected him not because they very much wanted to have a president like Stepan Demirchian, but because they hoped not to see Robert Kocharian in that position.”
But in an interview with “Aravot,” Demirchian says that the people continue to pin hopes on his Artarutyun alliance. “We must do everything to live up to those expectations,” Demirchian says. “And that requires a responsible approach, not hasty steps. To those who keep giving admonitions, making calls and accusing us of indecision I want to say that nobody prevents them from putting their advice into practice by themselves.”
“Azg” comments that if economic ties with Turkey indeed held the key to economic recovery, neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia would have already solved many of their grave socioeconomic problems. The paper says one should therefore not look forward to the possible reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border. Ankara, it says, is in no mood to do that any time soon. Its recent overtures to Yerevan are simply an attempt to mislead the international community.
(Vache Sarkisian)