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Press Review


(Saturday, April 11)

Commenting on the arrests and prosecution of five leaders of the Founding Parliament opposition movement, “Zhamanak” wonders whether the Armenian authorities will end this “repressive pressure” after the April 24 commemorations of the centenary of the Armenian genocide. The paper believes that those arrests have potentially more serious implications that the recent government crackdown on Gagik Tsarukian and his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK).

“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” scoffs at Dashnaktsutyun leader Armen Rustamian’s claim that Zhirayr Sefilian and the other jailed oppositionists ma have themselves wanted to be arrested. “So the authorities were so gracious that they fulfilled the Founding Parliament’s wish,” the paper comments tartly. “Sefilian should therefore send a letter of deep gratitude to the heads of our law-enforcement bodies and ask them to further toughen his prison conditions and set a deserved punishment for them.”

“Hraparak” reports that Manvel Grigorian and Seyran Saroyan, retired army generals and prominent Armenian veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, have flown to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The paper says they will also use the occasion to donate an Armenian “cross stone” to the local Armenian community.

“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that the Armenian traffic police collected as much as 12 billion drams ($25 million) in fines from motorists last year. The sum is equivalent to around 1 percent of Armenia’s overall budgetary revenue. The paper believes that this is a disproportionately high rate for a low-income country like Armenia.

“Zhoghovurd” says that Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian has not achieved anything important during his one year in office. “The economy continues to be in trouble and there is not a single indicator that can make us optimistic about the future,” claims the paper.

(Heghine Buniatian)

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