Lragir.am says that the general amnesty declared by the Armenian authorities can not be seen as a restoration of justice. “Even if we believe that it was a display of goodwill, the question of justice will still be open,” says the online journal. “At issue is not the release of political prisoners. The question is why they existed in the first place. The amnesty doesn’t answer that question.” Besides, the problem can not be deemed eliminated as long as there is a single political prisoner in Armenia, it says. Especially considering the fact that the country still does not know the full truth about the March 2008 violence in Yerevan.
“Hayots Ashkhar” quotes deputy parliament speaker Samvel Nikoyan as slamming the Armenian opposition for its criticism of the terms of the amnesty. “Every attempt is made to denigrate and distort the public result expected from the amnesty and its significance,” says Nikoyan. He claims that opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian was never interested in the release of his comrades. “They need victims and martyrs,” he says. “Or else, they won’t have supporters and followers and won’t be able to continue to fight for their ambitions.”
“Zhamanak” reports that Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said at an economic forum in Stepanakert last week that the Armenian government must do everything to ensure that living standards in Nagorno-Karabakh are higher than in Armenia. “And yet common sense suggests that Karabakh will be stronger and resilient if Armenia is strong and resilient too. A father who doesn’t eat and gives the food to children deserves appreciation. But that is not a sound reality because the best defender of children is a healthy and strong father.”
“Azg” says that Wednesday’s debate on Armenia at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) “will hardly create problems” for the Armenian authorities. The paper says the PACE’s two Armenia rapporteurs, Georges Colombier and John Prescott, signaled their satisfaction with the authorities during their recent visit to Yerevan. “As long as there is no strong opposition [in Armenia] nobody will bring the authorities to task,” it says. “Nor will anyone disturb the Europeans. The very fact that parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian traveled to Strasbourg with our delegation shows that nothing bad will happen in Strasbourg.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)