“Zhamanak” argues that the reinstatement a few years ago of the March 8 international women’s day, a Soviet-era leftover, as a public holiday in Armenia is a sign that the country has not become truly independent. “In newly independent Armenia the authorities decided to scrap the observance of March 8 as a ‘red day’, instead choosing April 7 as ‘Motherhood and Beauty Day’. But that had a short life and the tradition of observing March 8 was reinstated soon. But it wasn’t because the society wanted it to be so, but rather because the elites decided to play cheap tricks on society. And today, after 25 years of formal independence, we more than ever witness a reality in which Armenia is more getting back to its Soviet past than becoming a truly independent, sovereign and competitive nation.”
“Aravot” publishes images of a flea market in capital Yerevan where citizens can sell and buy old household items and other second-hand goods, saying that its recent extension is an indicator that the social and economic conditions of the population do not improve. “No matter how government officials try to persuade the society that the situation of our country and its citizens has improved, that there is economic growth, this flea market reflects the real social and economic condition of the country,” the daily comments.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” scoffs at the Armenian government for considering adding two more Latin letters in the list of those allowed for cars’ license plates. It assumes that the need of the letters has arisen because of the special affection that Armenians have towards repeating numbers in license plates commonly known as ‘gold’ number plates: “This is, indeed, a very serious problem: the children of officials are growing up and there is a shortage of ‘gold’ license plates for new cars. Moreover, with this decision budget revenues will also be increasing, because the ‘gold’ license plates are quite expensive.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” observes that the ownership of a large training center being built in Dilijan remains an open question from the legal perspective after the separation of the State Revenues Committee (SRC) from the Finance Ministry.“The thing is that the SRC owned the facility before becoming part of the Finance Ministry and at that time it was SRC head Gagik Khachatrian who fully coordinated the construction project. Now Khachatrian is only finance minister and has nothing to do with the SRC,” the paper writes, adding that according to its information, Khachatrian is trying to add this training center to the list of Finance Ministry assets. “But in the government they consider such a prospect unlikely.”
(Tatevik Lazarian)