“Zhoghovurd” says that Monday’s beating of a Nagorno-Karabakh opposition parliamentarian, Hayk Khanumian, was a “big blow” to the reputation of the authorities in Stepanakert. The paper finds it encouraging that Bako Sahakian, the Karabakh president, issued a statement on Tuesday strongly condemning the assault.
“Zhamanak” comments on President Serzh Sarkisian’s recent remark that Armenia is part of the “European civilization.” The paper sees a sharp contrast between that statement and a new Russian-Armenian treaty on joint air defense that will be debated by the Armenian parliament this month.
“Hraparak” reports that Bako Sahakian flew to Paris on Tuesday on a visit very few details of which have been made public. The paper speculates that the visit may be part of preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents which may also take place in the French capital. The West, it says, now seems to be trying hard to prevent another escalation of the Karabakh conflict and remove obstacles to its peaceful resolution based on mutual concessions by the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” continues to voice skepticism about the Armenian government’s pledges to tackle de facto economic monopolies and carry out other sweeping reforms. The paper claims that the only likely practical consequence of these pledges is that officials from the State Commission on the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) will now extort more bribes from “oligarchs” that control the monopolies.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports on a continuing fall in consumer prices in Armenia. Citing a report by the National Statistical Service (NSS), the paper says that the country’s consumer price index in May was down by just over 2 percent from the same period in 2015. It says that this deflation is not really good for Armenia’s economy and population.
(Tigran Avetisian)