Մատչելիության հղումներ

Press Review


“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” demands the opening of a criminal case against the government in connection with the sharp rise in the price of Russian natural gas. “In particular, it must be clarified in which circumstances the diameter of the Armenia-Iran gas pipeline was decided,” writes the pro-opposition paper. “When and how was decided the list of assets handed over to Russia in return for a gas price discount? … This is a crime that affected more than three million people.”

“Aravot” says that the ongoing parliamentary debates on the Armenian government’s five-year program are very different from similar discussions taking place in established democracies. The paper argues that Armenian opposition criticism of the program is not based on ideological tenets. “Ever since 1992 our oppositionists have not focused on such issues,” it says in an editorial. “They have been saying only one thing to the authorities: ‘Your are thieves, bandits and looters and must go as soon as possible; or else, the country will fall apart.’ That certainly appeals to the popular masses remaining in a severe socioeconomic situation but does not contribute to a [meaningful] discussion of the program itself. One of the reasons for this situation is that ever since 1995 the parliament has not been formed through free and fair elections and has not reflected the interests of various segments of the society.”

“Zhamanak” comments on “extremely severe” consequences of the hailstorm in the Armavir province. “Armenia has long passed the threshold of a social-psychological disaster and current local outbreaks only prove that sad fact,” says the paper. “We measure the disaster only with emigration. In fact, it is deeper because people remaining in Armenia are only physically here. They are in a very complicated psychological state and they cannot be deemed effective residents of the state.”

“Hayots Ashkhar” says many government critics are exploiting the devastating hailstorm for political purposes. The paper argues that what the villagers hit hard by hail are demanding is not regime change. “People are formulating very clear and simple demands: compensate for the damage, solve the issue of loans taken from banks and wiped out by the hail, and render assistance,” it says. “Representatives of political forces are miles away from those issues. They are only interested in the existing situation and exploiting it as much as possible.”

(Tigran Avetisian)
XS
SM
MD
LG