“Aravot” notes that the opposition has failed, at least at this stage, to achieve a change of government. “The government has used its administrative instruments to prevent that. The governments of [former presidents] Levon Ter-Petrosian and Robert Kocharian acted the same way and even used more pressure to deal with their opponents. So, all complaints of the supporters of the first and second presidents are insincere.” “If I am bald, I cannot blame someone else for being bald,” the paper concludes.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” assumes that by establishing a new anti-corruption body the Armenian government hopes to get the suspended funding under the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account program resumed. “At least for us, the people of Armenia, it is clear that this new anti-corruption council led by the prime minister cannot effectively fight corruption and will not even want to do that. But the question on why the government has been in such a rush to set up the body found its answer yesterday: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Susan Fritz was in Armenia and met with the prime minister in Yerevan. During that meeting, the Armenian prime minister pointed at the establishment of the body that will have a broad representation. And Fritz, judging from the government’s press release, welcomed that step.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” observes a “sharp change” in the domestic political situation in Armenia: “While only some 10 days ago the question was formulated as follows: either [President] Serzh Sarkisian himself implements serious changes and stops considering Armenia as his fiefdom or hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets and change the government. Now the question is formulated differently: either Serzh Sarkisian makes the changes or he doesn’t. In other words, it is up to him to decide what to do.”
“Zhoghovurd” claims to possess information that in the coming days Gagik Tsarukian, the embattled leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), is going to announce his decision to leave the top party position. The paper suggests that Tsarukian will become “honorary chairman” of the BHK with no practical instruments of influencing the party policy. “It is not clear who will become the next leader of the party. BHK members are in a rather difficult situation today as they are trying to find ways out of this crisis,” the daily writes, predicting that more members will quit the party and its parliamentary faction in the coming days.
(Hovannes Shoghikian, Lusine Musayelian)