(Saturday, October 12)
“Hayots Ashkhar” notes that the latest lavish celebrations of an annual holiday in Yerevan are not matched by a sense of real joy among tens of thousands of city residents attending them. “We are not saying that the people touring the sites of the festivities look grim,” explains the paper. “But something is missing in the overall atmosphere. Something very important.”
“Are we genuinely happy with our capital?” asks “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “In our 2,795-year-old city there is hardly any 100-year-old build left untouched. Old Yerevan is being stubbornly and consistently destroyed. Especially in recent years, Yerevan has been transformed from a capital into a large settlement lacking history and identity.” The paper says that the municipal authorities spend considerable sums on such festivities, rather than the restoration of old buildings because the latter prevent oligarchs and other government-linked individuals from buying more lucrative properties in the city center.
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” reports that Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian was snubbed by his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during a visit to Moscow on Friday. “What is disgraceful is that he only met with Medvedev’s deputies,” says the paper. What is more, it says, the Russian government issued no press releases on Sarkisian’s talks in Moscow. “What happened was so insignificant to the Russians that they did not find it necessary to even post a small official statement about it on their website,” it says.
“Zhamanak” quotes Koryun Piloyan, a veteran senior prosecutor relieved of his duties last week, as claiming that he himself decided to step down. “I decided to take rest, I am tired,” says Piloyan. Asked whether he feels that the Armenian authorities appreciate what he has done for them, Piloyan replies, “I don’t want to answer your questions now.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
“Hayots Ashkhar” notes that the latest lavish celebrations of an annual holiday in Yerevan are not matched by a sense of real joy among tens of thousands of city residents attending them. “We are not saying that the people touring the sites of the festivities look grim,” explains the paper. “But something is missing in the overall atmosphere. Something very important.”
“Are we genuinely happy with our capital?” asks “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “In our 2,795-year-old city there is hardly any 100-year-old build left untouched. Old Yerevan is being stubbornly and consistently destroyed. Especially in recent years, Yerevan has been transformed from a capital into a large settlement lacking history and identity.” The paper says that the municipal authorities spend considerable sums on such festivities, rather than the restoration of old buildings because the latter prevent oligarchs and other government-linked individuals from buying more lucrative properties in the city center.
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” reports that Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian was snubbed by his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during a visit to Moscow on Friday. “What is disgraceful is that he only met with Medvedev’s deputies,” says the paper. What is more, it says, the Russian government issued no press releases on Sarkisian’s talks in Moscow. “What happened was so insignificant to the Russians that they did not find it necessary to even post a small official statement about it on their website,” it says.
“Zhamanak” quotes Koryun Piloyan, a veteran senior prosecutor relieved of his duties last week, as claiming that he himself decided to step down. “I decided to take rest, I am tired,” says Piloyan. Asked whether he feels that the Armenian authorities appreciate what he has done for them, Piloyan replies, “I don’t want to answer your questions now.”
(Tigran Avetisian)