“Zhamanak” says that Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgian’s resignation has inevitably caused speculations about his ties to former President Robert Kocharian. “Gevorgian used to be considered Kochrian’s right-hand man and it was expected that after the latter’s departure Gevorgian will quit too,” explains the paper. “However, he has been part of the governments formed by Serzh Sarkisian and headed by both Tigran Sarkisian and Hovik Abrahamian. And his served as deputy prime minister. His work in the government has often been regarded as a factor of Kocharian’s influence. Therefore, his departure may be considered in the same context as a weakening of Kocharian’s influence.”
“On the other hand, Robert Kocharian is likely to actively participate in the next electoral circle, and Armen Gevorgian, being trustworthy and, in a sense, irreplaceable for him, is resigning from the current government to take part in the intra-government struggle with Kocharian and, if it proves to be successful, join a new government formed by him,” claims “Zhamanak.”
“It must be admitted that Armen Gevorgian was a good state official,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Intelligent, educated and diligent. But he was only a functionary. He was not a political decision maker. He implemented political decisions.” The paper says Gevorgian would efficiently carry out even “monstrous” orders issued by his superiors. “In this sense, it is difficult to evaluate Gevorgian’s work because he helped to put into practice many monstrous decisions made by Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian,” it claims. “But Armen Gevorgian himself is not quite responsible for those decisions. This may sound absurd, but there are such individuals in any state.”
“Hraparak” says that the opposition Prosperous Armenia (BHK), Armenian National Congress (HAK) and Zharangutyun parties are awaiting “reasonable proposals” from Sarkisian ahead of their next rally slated for October 24. “This might explain the absence of a common political agenda in the trio and its announcement of the upcoming rally,” writes the paper. “It looks as though the authorities are in no rush to embark on negotiations with the troika -- more precisely, with its driving force, the BHK.” It says that Gagik Tsarukian’s party holds the key to the success of the opposition campaign.
“Hayots Ashkhar” says that the Azerbaijani government’s latest statements about an imminent progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process are a “propaganda attack” coming ahead of the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Paris expected on October 27. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Thursday that Baku is ready to negotiate a comprehensive peace accord with the Armenians. In fact, the paper claims, Ilham Aliyev’s regime “has no desire to achieve mutual compromise.”
(Tigran Avetisian)