The second anniversary of the shock assassinations in the parliament is the main theme of Saturday’s Armenian press commentary. Papers agree that the nation still does not know the full truth about the tragedy but suggest differing reasons for that.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” comments that suspicion about Robert Kocharian’s involvement in the killings is “still alive.” And it can still cause a “change of government” in Armenia.
The government-controlled “Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” thinks that the ongoing trial of Nairi Hunanian and the other parliament gunmen must become a “uniting factor” for the country’s leadership and people. It should not be used by the opposition for a “destabilization” of the political situation.
But as “Aravot” notes, relatives of the eight officials gunned down on October 27, 1999 and the country’s rulers “will not stand next to each other” when they lay flowers at the victims’ graves on Saturday. Robert Kocharian’s “nervous reaction” to activities of the HZhK, Hanrapetutyun and National Unity stems from the fact that the troika comprises many of the victims’ relatives and close associates. When Armenians see the brother of the slain prime minister and the son of the murdered parliament speaker jointly campaigning against the current regime their suspicion that Kocharian had masterminded the parliament attack only grows, the paper claims.
“Azg” says that Armenia is still reeling from the political fallout from the October 1999 shootings. The investigation of the crime is still not complete, fueling mutual distrust between the authorities and the opposition. The public, in the meantime, has been left totally “disoriented.” The chairman of the Hayastan parliamentary group, Miasnik Malkhasian, tells the paper that he is unhappy with the course of the shootings trial, while the leader of the pro-government Miasnutyun faction, Galust Sahakian, is concerned that the court proceedings are “dragging on.”
The controversial head of the parliament attack inquiry, Chief Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian, is still convinced that “Nairi Hunanian could not have acted on his own,” “Aravot” reports. But Jahangirian does not say who the masterminds of the crime are and whether he will manage to bring them to justice.
(Vache Sarkisian)
“Haykakan Zhamanak” comments that suspicion about Robert Kocharian’s involvement in the killings is “still alive.” And it can still cause a “change of government” in Armenia.
The government-controlled “Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” thinks that the ongoing trial of Nairi Hunanian and the other parliament gunmen must become a “uniting factor” for the country’s leadership and people. It should not be used by the opposition for a “destabilization” of the political situation.
But as “Aravot” notes, relatives of the eight officials gunned down on October 27, 1999 and the country’s rulers “will not stand next to each other” when they lay flowers at the victims’ graves on Saturday. Robert Kocharian’s “nervous reaction” to activities of the HZhK, Hanrapetutyun and National Unity stems from the fact that the troika comprises many of the victims’ relatives and close associates. When Armenians see the brother of the slain prime minister and the son of the murdered parliament speaker jointly campaigning against the current regime their suspicion that Kocharian had masterminded the parliament attack only grows, the paper claims.
“Azg” says that Armenia is still reeling from the political fallout from the October 1999 shootings. The investigation of the crime is still not complete, fueling mutual distrust between the authorities and the opposition. The public, in the meantime, has been left totally “disoriented.” The chairman of the Hayastan parliamentary group, Miasnik Malkhasian, tells the paper that he is unhappy with the course of the shootings trial, while the leader of the pro-government Miasnutyun faction, Galust Sahakian, is concerned that the court proceedings are “dragging on.”
The controversial head of the parliament attack inquiry, Chief Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian, is still convinced that “Nairi Hunanian could not have acted on his own,” “Aravot” reports. But Jahangirian does not say who the masterminds of the crime are and whether he will manage to bring them to justice.
(Vache Sarkisian)