“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” says Armenians should not feel encouraged by the fact that the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will be starting their fact-finding mission to areas around Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia. “If they were to enter Karabakh from Azerbaijan -- say, through Martakert -- they would have to pass through Armenian villages occupied and destroyed by the Azerbaijanis,” says the paper. “So they have chosen the sole route whereby they will be passing through only ruined Azerbaijani villages.”
“Aravot” contends that if the Armenian opposition avoids appealing to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and other international bodies it will only encourage the authorities to commit more human rights abuses, arrest more oppositionists, place more serious restrictions on civil liberties, and rig elections in even more blatant ways. “Those international bodies are the only factor restraining our authorities,” editorializes the paper. “But if you talk about our vices in apocalyptic tones … then our neighbors, which deal with problems with the same freedoms in a much worse fashion, will say, ‘Well, if you say that, then that’s definitely the case, and it’s not only clear why a bad country like yours has claims to Karabakh.’”
“Hraparak” claims that the presidential Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) has already started campaigning for the next parliamentary elections and is making no secret of its use of government levers. “They visit regions and hold meetings there, mark the teachers’ holiday and hand out presents to teachers, organize charity concerts and other events, give party members jobs and privileges and, most importantly, tell the public that the Republican Party is strong and invincible … and that the opposition is already defeated,” says the paper. It claims President Serzh Sarkisian realizes that a disproportionate strengthening of the HHK could threaten his own hold on power and is therefore “taking to rein in it.”
“Kapital” quotes the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Gagik Khachatrian, as saying that his agency considers Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates the main source of the smuggling of various consumer goods to Armenia. He says businessmen importing various products from those countries often present false purchase invoices to Armenian customs officials. Khachatrian notes with satisfaction that the bulk of Armenia’s foreign trade is carried out with “non-risky countries.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
“Aravot” contends that if the Armenian opposition avoids appealing to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and other international bodies it will only encourage the authorities to commit more human rights abuses, arrest more oppositionists, place more serious restrictions on civil liberties, and rig elections in even more blatant ways. “Those international bodies are the only factor restraining our authorities,” editorializes the paper. “But if you talk about our vices in apocalyptic tones … then our neighbors, which deal with problems with the same freedoms in a much worse fashion, will say, ‘Well, if you say that, then that’s definitely the case, and it’s not only clear why a bad country like yours has claims to Karabakh.’”
“Hraparak” claims that the presidential Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) has already started campaigning for the next parliamentary elections and is making no secret of its use of government levers. “They visit regions and hold meetings there, mark the teachers’ holiday and hand out presents to teachers, organize charity concerts and other events, give party members jobs and privileges and, most importantly, tell the public that the Republican Party is strong and invincible … and that the opposition is already defeated,” says the paper. It claims President Serzh Sarkisian realizes that a disproportionate strengthening of the HHK could threaten his own hold on power and is therefore “taking to rein in it.”
“Kapital” quotes the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Gagik Khachatrian, as saying that his agency considers Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates the main source of the smuggling of various consumer goods to Armenia. He says businessmen importing various products from those countries often present false purchase invoices to Armenian customs officials. Khachatrian notes with satisfaction that the bulk of Armenia’s foreign trade is carried out with “non-risky countries.”
(Tigran Avetisian)