“Zhamanak” suggests that the questions that linger in the wake of the attempt by Azerbaijani ‘saboteurs’ to infiltrate into Armenian-controlled territories near Nagorno-Karabakh create concerns among members of the public. “And concern in this case is what the actions of the saboteurs had aimed for in the first place. This means that if authorities in Armenia fail to provide a full and comprehensive account to dispel these public concerns, unfortunately, we will have to admit that the saboteurs to some extent have achieved their goals,” the paper writes.
“Hayots Ashkhar” advocates the establishment of a ‘semi-military regime’ in the areas exposed to infiltration by small groups of Azerbaijani saboteurs, citing the example of Israel. “This means that villagers who graze their cattle in the hills or work in the fields should be armed not only with rifles, but also with the necessary means of communication so that they can both defend themselves and inform the military about any raids attempted by enemy forces. Such villagers often become more vigilant ‘border guards’ than even the servicemen that are on duty at their posts,” the daily suggests.
In an interview with “168 Zham” Armenia’s former defense minister Vagharshak Harutiunian praises the Armenian forces for their ability to react quickly to thwart sabotage activities of the adversary: “It is not a secret to anyone that Azerbaijani sabotage groups are trained in Turkey and then practice their skills in combat conditions fighting Kurds alongside the Turkish army. Returning to Azerbaijan, they try to test their knowledge and experience in activities against the Armenian army because theoretical knowledge and experience of fighting Kurdish forces is one thing and facing the regular Armenian army is quite another thing. In this sense, it can be said that the Azerbaijani saboteurs have failed to realize all their goals. Of course, the army cannot know everything in advance, but it has shown that it can very quickly and efficiently react and thwart attempted sabotage activities.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” reports that during a recent Skype conference between Yerevan and Moscow on the subject of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan an opinion was voiced from the Russian side that it is time the Armenian National Assembly replaced its committee on European integration with a committee dealing with Eurasian integration issues. “In fact, in Russia they have decided that from now on they should prompt Armenians what committees they should have in their parliament. Their arguments, perhaps, are logical. If Armenia gives up European integration, who needs a committee on European integration then? But using this same logic, we can also demand that the Russian State Duma abolish its committee on human rights. If human rights are not protected, who needs the committee?” the paper comments sardonically.
(Tigran Avetisian)