(Saturday, November 4)
“Zhoghovurd” is unimpressed by President Serzh Sarkisian’s calls for Indian companies to invest in Armenia and take advantage of the country’s membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which he made during a working visit to New Delhi. The paper argues that EEU member states like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are geographically closer to India than Armenia. “Besides, there are no transport routes to Armenia,” it says.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” looks at implications of the November 1 meeting of the Iranian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents held in Tehran. The three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a North-South corridor that will boost rail communication between them. The paper alleges that this corridor is “rendering meaningless” Armenia’s ambition to serve as a transit link for cargo shipments from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. It says the Armenian highways stretching from the Iranian to the Georgian borders, which are now undergoing major repairs, will be underused. “Most of the traffic will pass through Azerbaijan’s territory,”
“Zhamanak” quotes Vartan Yeghiazarian, a deputy chief of the national police service, as saying that that the law-enforcement agency will be directly subordinate to Armenia’s prime minister after the country completes its transition to the parliamentary system of government in April. The paper wonders whether that statement made on Friday was coordinated with President Serzh Sarkisian. It says that a prime minister directly controlling the Armenian police would have greater political clout. “For which prime minister is that [change of subordination] being done?” it asks.
“Aravot” carries an editorial on upcoming local elections to be held in mostly rural communities across Armenia. “Hardly anyone doubts who will win those elections,” writes the paper. “Opposition parties decided not to enter the fray. ‘Good guys’ from [Gagik Tsarukian’s] BHK will win in several communities, while Republican ‘good guys’ will make up the vast majority of town and village mayors. The names of parties are absolutely unimportant … Even so, the opposition’s non-participation is weird. That fact testifies to not only a lack of money or regional chapters but the laziness and indifference [of opposition groups.] Yes, it is almost impossible to achieve success [in Armenian local elections] but not trying to do that, not communicating with citizens is a wrong tactic.”
(Elen Chilingarian)
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