Citing weekend comments by Armen Ashotian, a deputy chairman of the ruling HHK, “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” says there is no doubt that President Serzh Sarkisian will become prime minister immediately after completing his final presidential term on April 9. The paper says Ashotian’s remarks prove that recent years’ political processes in Armenia were a “political show” designed to enable Sarkisian to extend his rule.
“The HHK seems to be becoming divided,” writes “Zhamanak.” “Some party members do not hesitate to speak about Serzh Sarkisian being irreplaceable and about his prime-ministerial future. But there are also those who do not rush to join that partisan act of allegiance, saying that there is still no decision and that they will speak up when the issue is discussed. After all, few in Armenia can imagine Sarkisian giving up his status as the number one government figure. Especially now that the constitutional hurdle to that has been eliminated and he has secured a constitutional opportunity to indefinitely remain the number one figure.” The paper says that his HHK allies have no say whatsoever in his decision making.
“Zhoghovurd” says that former President Armen Sarkissian will be “part of an illegitimate government” if he agrees to become Armenia’s next president. The paper is also skeptical about his calls for national unity. It argues that Serzh Sarkisian made similar calls when he took over as president in April 2008 in the wake of a deadly post-election unrest in Yerevan. “So Armen Sarkissian will hardly live up to expectations especially given that he will have mainly symbolic powers,” it says,
“Our oppositionists have failed for the past 25 years not because their methods of struggle are not eccentric or extreme enough,” writes “Aravot.” “The problem runs deeper. For the past quarter of a century the opposition has pinned its hopes on a popular revolt … They should have had enough time to understand that this is a methodological mistake. But if you just listen to any opposition speech you will see that ‘vision’ from the second or third sentence. It’s about the time they realized that this path cannot lead them anywhere.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
Facebook Forum