“Zhamanak” is disappointed with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest video address to the nation in which he made a case for allowing a Western company, Lydian International, to restart a multimillion-dollar gold mining project in Armenia. “The government could have certainly made such a decision,” writes the paper. “That was one of the two possible decisions which could have been deemed totally logical had Pashinian chosen the right and substantiated methodology. But the revolutionary government behaved like the former system, hiding behind a very dubious international audit.”
“Aravot” has a very different take on the dispute over the Amulsar gold mine. “It’s impossible to always make decisions that please the majority and that is one of the pitfalls of democracy,” editorializes the paper. It says that while there may be legitimate concerns about environmental consequences of the Amulsar project Armenia must not be governed by a “mob guided only by emotions, instincts and myths.” It says with satisfaction that Pashinian on Monday signaled his opposition to mob rule in the country. “That give us cause for some optimism,” concludes the paper.
Lragir.am comments on Russian authorities’ refusal to extradite Mihran Poghosian, a former senior Armenian official facing corruption charges in Armenia. The publication suggests that they made a “purely political decision” which did not come as a surprise. “It was always evident that the decision on whether or not to extradite [Poghosian] is going to be purely political,” it says.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Facebook Forum