“Zhoghovurd” believes that President Serzh Sarkisian’s renewed threats to walk away from the Turkish-Armenian protocols will not influence Turkey’s policy on Armenia. The paper speculates that Sarkisian could now withdraw Yerevan’s signature from the protocols for another reason: to woo the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and thwart its renewed cooperation with three other parliamentary forces challenging him.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that with his speech at the UN General Assembly Sarkisian “admitted his defeat in the Turkish-Armenian football diplomacy.” The paper says Yerevan is trying to get rid of the 2009 protocols because they stand in the way of greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, especially ahead of its 100th anniversary to be marked next year. It argues that only one country, Sweden, has recognized the genocide since the signing of the protocols.
“Zhamanak” points out that Sarkisian’s undiplomatic remark at the UN assembly -- “to hell with the protocols” -- should have been followed by an explicit threat to invalidate those agreements. And yet the Armenian president only threatened to recall the protocols from the Armenian parliament, which has not ratified them. The Turks will therefore not take this warnings seriously, says the paper.
In an interview with “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun,” Vahagn Khachatrian, a prominent member of the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), voices support for small traders protesting against new tax rules set by the authorities. The official rationale for the recently enacted measure is to complicate tax evasion by large trading companies. Khachatrian believes that the government should not have targeted small traders in that endeavor. “You know very well that most, if not all, members of the government represent that big business,” he tells the paper. “There is only one way to solve the problem. They just have to have the political courage and crack down on sponsors of corruption. It would take a single order. But that order is not issued.”
“168 Zham” notes that representatives of the HAK, the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) and the Zharangutyun (Heritage) Party have made clear that they will not discuss Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union at their upcoming rally in Yerevan. “This is particularly important given the rally date: October 10,” comments the paper. “On the same day a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union will take place in Minsk. It is expected to finalize Armenia’s membership in that structure.”
(Tigran Avetisian)