In what it presents as the latest example of “persecutions” unleashed by the Armenian authorities, “Hraparak” reports that its bank accounts were frozen by the Service for the Mandatory Execution of Judicial acts last week as a result of its dispute with the Gind printing house. The latter secured recently a court ruling requiring the paper to make about 1.6 million drams ($4,250) in back payments to Gind. “Never mind that we were not informed about that and that we found out about that by chance,” says the paper.
Political commentator Anush Sedrakian tells “Iravunk de facto” that Armenia will draw a number of “dividends” from the normalization of its relations with Turkey. “First of all, cultural and psychological ones,” she says. “We grew up in an atmosphere of hatred, with a victim’s complex. When they ask what Turkey’s current borders are, I say, ‘Turkey’s current border is the boundary of the past hatred.’ Passing that boundary, at least psychologically, is an achievement for the national mentality.” Sedrakian also says that improved bilateral relations will bring Armenia and Turkey closer to the West. “Armenia is given an opportunity to integrate itself into the realm of Western values, something which didn’t have as a consequence of our intensifying rapprochement with Russia,” she says.
Another pundit, Aleksandr Iskandarian, defends the ongoing Turkish-Armenian dialogue in an interview with “Hayots Ashkhar.” “I think that the [Turkish-Armenian] border will be opened after all,” he says. “Just when it will be opened -- in a few months’ times or ten years late -- I don’t know. The fact is that the process has been set in motion and can’t be stopped. After saying A you must say B. The Turks have said A and sooner or later the process will lead to the opening of the border and the establishment of diplomatic relations.” Iskandarian believes that Armenia should remain engaged in that process “even if Turkey drags out the ratification of the protocols [on normalizing relations with Armenia] by its parliament.”
In an editorial, “Zhamanak” claims that Armenia’s leadership is seeking to make peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey in order to “distract the public’s attention from internal problems and to gain external legitimacy in place of internal legitimacy.” But, says the paper, domestic public support is essential for putting possible agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Turkish-Armenian relations into practice. “They can get that support only through serious and real reforms of domestic life,” it says.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Political commentator Anush Sedrakian tells “Iravunk de facto” that Armenia will draw a number of “dividends” from the normalization of its relations with Turkey. “First of all, cultural and psychological ones,” she says. “We grew up in an atmosphere of hatred, with a victim’s complex. When they ask what Turkey’s current borders are, I say, ‘Turkey’s current border is the boundary of the past hatred.’ Passing that boundary, at least psychologically, is an achievement for the national mentality.” Sedrakian also says that improved bilateral relations will bring Armenia and Turkey closer to the West. “Armenia is given an opportunity to integrate itself into the realm of Western values, something which didn’t have as a consequence of our intensifying rapprochement with Russia,” she says.
Another pundit, Aleksandr Iskandarian, defends the ongoing Turkish-Armenian dialogue in an interview with “Hayots Ashkhar.” “I think that the [Turkish-Armenian] border will be opened after all,” he says. “Just when it will be opened -- in a few months’ times or ten years late -- I don’t know. The fact is that the process has been set in motion and can’t be stopped. After saying A you must say B. The Turks have said A and sooner or later the process will lead to the opening of the border and the establishment of diplomatic relations.” Iskandarian believes that Armenia should remain engaged in that process “even if Turkey drags out the ratification of the protocols [on normalizing relations with Armenia] by its parliament.”
In an editorial, “Zhamanak” claims that Armenia’s leadership is seeking to make peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey in order to “distract the public’s attention from internal problems and to gain external legitimacy in place of internal legitimacy.” But, says the paper, domestic public support is essential for putting possible agreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Turkish-Armenian relations into practice. “They can get that support only through serious and real reforms of domestic life,” it says.
(Tigran Avetisian)