The German parliament’s decision to recognize the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey is the central theme of Armenian press commentary on Friday.
“Berlin did it. What will it do next?” reads a headline in “Zhamanak.” The paper calls the Bundestag resolution an “important milestone” in the Armenian campaign for worldwide recognition of the genocide. “It is also beyond doubt that Germany demonstrated the qualities of a dignified state,” it says. “The Bundestag resolution was obviously related to Germany’s and Europe’s relations with Turkey.”
“Although some experts say that the content of the document is very weak … in terms of foreign policy, it is very important to Armenia,” writes “Zhoghovurd.”
“Although Ankara has reacted angrily to the Bundestag resolution, it is not expected to go very far [in retaliating against Germany] because it would inflict extremely serious damage on Turkey itself, which is already mired in a serious economic crisis owing to sanctions imposed by Russia,” editorializes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” The paper predicts that Ankara will “calm down” and send its ambassador back to Berlin some time later.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” insists that the Armenian authorities will not seriously reduce the scale of government corruption in the country contrary to strong statements made by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian and other senior officials. “There are two key reasons for that,” explains the paper. “First, if corruption schemes are exposed in full their traces will lead to the highest echelons of power. And if all guilty officials are punished there will be virtually no one left in the state apparatus. Secondly, the political system created for the past two decades would immediately collapse.”
“Aravot” dismisses some Russian pundits’ strong criticism of the Armenian authorities’ decision to place a statue of Garegin Nzhdeh, a controversial 20th century Armenian military leader, in the center of Yerevan. “Nzhdeh’s views were anti-Communist but not anti-Russian,” the paper says in an editorial. “Therefore, calling the statue of our national hero an anti-Russian gesture is a great exaggeration.” The paper speculates that the criticism might be the Kremlin’s response to the recent vocal Armenian protests against Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan.
(Tigran Avetisian)