“Aravot” predicts that authorities will use force to disperse opposition crowds in Yerevan’s Liberty Square “in the coming days.” “[Levon] Ter-Petrosian will not leave the job unfinished and go home to drink tea, as was the case in 2003. On the other hand, he will not attack the National Assembly, as was the case in 1996,” says the paper, adding that the first president of Armenia may proceed to only two places from Liberty Square: the presidential palace or prison. It says the authorities will not have an “easy life” even if they jail Ter-Petrosian. “In that case, the regime would be very shaky both inside and outside the country. The ideal option would be for the conflicting parties to start negotiations. But that is the most unlikely scenario at the moment.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” complains that defeated presidential candidates in Armenia are making it a “habit” to refuse to concede defeat and to reckon with “the majority’s opinion.” “The aggression shown by the minority can become contagious for the majority and lead to serious clashes,” says the paper. “The state’s duty is to prevent such incidents and thwart Ter-Petrosian’s endless and meaningless attempts to provoke revolutionary upheavals.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” says international observers’ generally positive assessment of the election conduct “doesn’t mean anything because the people have not come to terms with the election results.” “After all, on February 19 we elected the president of the Republic of Armenia, not European observers,” reasons the opposition paper. “The authority of that president will be felt not by the head of the CIS observer mission but the citizens of Armenia, the expression of whose will is brutally violated by people who want the people to love and accept them as an authority.”
“Times have changed and the people have realized that the unelected regime is wasting their dignity,” writes “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun.” The paper reports that people bused to Serzh Sarkisian’s Tuesday rally joined Ter-Petrosian’s demonstration in droves and says the vast majority of Armenians are united in their rejection of the official vote results.
“Azg” asserts, however, that the Armenian public is being increasingly split into two hostile camps and stresses the need for national unity. “The current process of division is dangerous for our state, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,” says the paper.
(Atom Markarian)
“Hayots Ashkhar” complains that defeated presidential candidates in Armenia are making it a “habit” to refuse to concede defeat and to reckon with “the majority’s opinion.” “The aggression shown by the minority can become contagious for the majority and lead to serious clashes,” says the paper. “The state’s duty is to prevent such incidents and thwart Ter-Petrosian’s endless and meaningless attempts to provoke revolutionary upheavals.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” says international observers’ generally positive assessment of the election conduct “doesn’t mean anything because the people have not come to terms with the election results.” “After all, on February 19 we elected the president of the Republic of Armenia, not European observers,” reasons the opposition paper. “The authority of that president will be felt not by the head of the CIS observer mission but the citizens of Armenia, the expression of whose will is brutally violated by people who want the people to love and accept them as an authority.”
“Times have changed and the people have realized that the unelected regime is wasting their dignity,” writes “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun.” The paper reports that people bused to Serzh Sarkisian’s Tuesday rally joined Ter-Petrosian’s demonstration in droves and says the vast majority of Armenians are united in their rejection of the official vote results.
“Azg” asserts, however, that the Armenian public is being increasingly split into two hostile camps and stresses the need for national unity. “The current process of division is dangerous for our state, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,” says the paper.
(Atom Markarian)