“Zhamanak” comments on the Wednesday presentation of approaches by the new anti-government campaign called “New Armenia”. “The presentation of the approaches took place under the motto of ‘No To the Regime’ and ‘No To the Constitution’, which is an attempt to combine two opposition trends. After the establishment of ‘New Armenia’ the forces demanding early elections turned opposition to the planned constitutional changes into a secondary issue, thus contradicting the political and civil groups struggling against these changes. And now an attempt is being apparently made to combine these two approaches.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” writes: “The pro-government propagandists are floating a new idea that those advocating the constitutional changes are serious political forces, while those that oppose them are unserious, small and insignificant groups. It remains unclear, however, what they mean by saying ‘serious’ political forces. Perhaps they mean the financial possibilities of members of the ruling Republican Party, their cars, property, expensive suits, etc. Today’s Republican Party is as serious as the Communist Party during the Soviet times. In other words, it is not a political party, it is a bunch of people who have gathered around [President] Serzh Sarkisian who has somehow made it to the top of power in order to enjoy the benefits of this power… Does anyone doubt that if a revolution takes place in Armenia one day, membership in the Republican Party will be reduced to just a hundred people?”
The editor of “Aravot” writes: “For 23 years on radical oppositionists, disregarding the ABC of revolutionary struggle, have kept the public informed about their plans for a revolution, saying that the ‘change of power will take place this month, next month and so on.’ Of course, it is not being said just for the sake of it, without a purpose. First, people should know when their carefree and prosperous life will start and it is also a means of psychological pressure on the authorities that, apparently, should feel panicky. But there are more negative consequences of it. The change of power does not take place and people get disappointed – equally with all.”
“Zhoghovurd” estimates that in the recent period the role of Russia in the Middle East affairs has considerably grown and believes that Armenia should draw certain conclusions from it. “For Armenia these developments and the increase in Russia’s role may have both positive and negative consequences. In particular, of the influential opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria Turkey has quite aggressively responded to the actions of Russia and it is not a coincidence that reacting to Assad’s visit to Moscow Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said: ‘It would be good if Assad remained in Moscow.’ In this situation it is not excluded that Turkey will try to pick on Russia through Armenia, increasing its destabilizing efforts both in Nagorno-Karabakh and at the border with Armenia.”
(Tigran Avetisian)