“Raffi Hovannisian and his team have found themselves in a difficult situation,” editorializes “Hraparak.” “They are facing suspicions, sarcasm, distrust, accusations of treason and skepticism from all sides. Our past suffering is an important precedent and people who saw the decline of the glorious 2008 movement cannot fail to treat Raffi’s team with distrust. After all, [Levon] Ter-Petrosian’s team was stronger and more mature in the organizational and ideological senses and in terms of the potential and its chances of victory were higher.”
Commenting on Hovannisian’s meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian, “Hayots Ashkhar” notes that never before did an Armenian president readily agree to negotiate with an opposition candidate challenging his election victory. The paper believes that the meeting was a landmark development in a country accustomed to confrontational politics.
“Ever since 1996 the results of presidential elections held in Armenia have been falsified,” writes “Aravot.” “Including this latest one. All official election runner-ups except Karen Demirchian in 1998 claimed to have been the rightful winners of the elections with 60, 70 or 80 percent of the vote.” They also tried to topple the government with mass demonstrations but those campaigns ended in failure. “Now Raffi Hovannisian is making a fourth attempt,” the paper says. “He has chosen his own style and tactics. Those who have previously tried and not succeeded can certainly make evaluations and give advice. But they cannot mock and denigrate the methods adopted by this politician.”
“The fact is that Armenia has a dignified population that does not want to put up with the government anymore,” writes “Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun.” “The rest is a matter of techniques and Raffi Hovannisian apparently has nothing to do with that issue whatever he says at today’s rally.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
Commenting on Hovannisian’s meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian, “Hayots Ashkhar” notes that never before did an Armenian president readily agree to negotiate with an opposition candidate challenging his election victory. The paper believes that the meeting was a landmark development in a country accustomed to confrontational politics.
“Ever since 1996 the results of presidential elections held in Armenia have been falsified,” writes “Aravot.” “Including this latest one. All official election runner-ups except Karen Demirchian in 1998 claimed to have been the rightful winners of the elections with 60, 70 or 80 percent of the vote.” They also tried to topple the government with mass demonstrations but those campaigns ended in failure. “Now Raffi Hovannisian is making a fourth attempt,” the paper says. “He has chosen his own style and tactics. Those who have previously tried and not succeeded can certainly make evaluations and give advice. But they cannot mock and denigrate the methods adopted by this politician.”
“The fact is that Armenia has a dignified population that does not want to put up with the government anymore,” writes “Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun.” “The rest is a matter of techniques and Raffi Hovannisian apparently has nothing to do with that issue whatever he says at today’s rally.”
(Tigran Avetisian)