“Aravot” carries an editorial on the 24th anniversary of the adoption of Armenia’s post-Soviet constitution. “Let us hope that future amendments [to the constitution] will not reflect the existing authorities’ parochial interests and will be enacted as a result of fair referendums,” writes the paper. It also singles out an article of the current Armenian constitution which guarantees the freedom of expression. “Of course sometimes there is an insurmountable gap between what is written on paper and real life,” it says. “The Stalin-era and Brezhnev-era constitutions [of the Soviet Union] also had such language. But there were serious restrictions on freedom of speech in both Soviet times and the Third [Armenian] Republic. Many of those restrictions were eliminated after the 2018 revolution [in Armenia.]”
“If someone had said years ago that one day former President Robert Kocharian will be under arrest and his supporters will protest outside the Armenian government headquarters, they would have been deemed to have a sick imagination,” writes “Zhoghovurd.” The pro-government paper says that the “criminal duo” of Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian finally lost power last year. It scoffs at their loyalists’ allegations about serious violations of due process in the prosecution of Kocharian and other former officials. It says they themselves had for years “raped” justice and rule of law in Armenia.
Lragir.am says that Sarkisian is trying to revive his Republican Party (HHK) by demonstratively making pilgrimages to Armenian churches and other holy sites together with senior HHK figures. The online publication says that they will visit on Friday a 4th century sepulcher of Armenian kings located in the central Aragatsotn province. “It would be more symbolic if they made the pilgrimage on foot, rather than by expensive cars … and if the party transferred a symbolic $1 million to the state treasury after every pilgrimage,” it says tartly.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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