Parliamentary debates on the Armenian government’s five-year plan of actions lead “Hraparak” to conclude that the recently elected National Assembly is “weak.” “There is a surplus of populism but a lack of economic thinking, experience and knowledge [among deputies,]” claims the paper. It says that lawmakers failed to thoroughly examine the 120-page program submitted by the government. It says the opposition minority was wrong to focus instead on the question of whether or not Prime Minister Karen Karapetian will retain his post in April 2018.
In an interview with “Aravot,” a parliament deputy from the Tsarukian Bloc, Ararat Zurabian, defends European Union Ambassador Piotr Switalski’s criticism of Armenia’s recent parliamentary elections. “Mr Switalski noted something that is the case in Armenia,” says Zurabian. “He said that there is a lack of trust in electoral processes.” He also says that Armenian officials were wrong to accuse the envoy of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports that a hailstorm and violent winds caused considerable devastation in a number of communities in Armenia’s northern Tavush province on June 20. The paper quotes the mayor of one of those villages, Rafik Ohanian, as saying that many residents of Ptghavan are now coping with not only a loss of their crops but also serious damage inflicted on their homes. Also, he says, about 20 percent of the local households were left without electricity. Power supplies have still not been restored. “For a fourth or fifth year running, we are not earning any revenue,” complains Ohanian. “We take tons of loans and invest them in land only to see our crops frozen or wrecked in this fashion.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
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