“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that “the absence of strong opposition” is a serious problem in Armenia. Some Armenian opposition groups are strong only in terms of their financial resources, the pro-government paper claims in an apparent reference to the country’s former leaders. It says that “serious” and credible opposition would force the authorities to “work with a greater sense of responsibility.” “The existing ‘powerful’ opposition is a real treasure for the authorities because they can reply to any opposition criticism: ‘Were things good under your rule?’” it says, adding that the authorities thus remain in a “comfort zone.”
“The people love the current authorities and especially Nikol Pashinian and that love is not connected with economic indicators, international ratings or ribbon-cutting ceremonies,” writes “Aravot.” “The people love Pashinian because he managed to carry out a revolution. For the people, there is essentially one standard [for judging a government:] is it corrupt or not corrupt? From this standpoint, the former authorities are perceived by the people as plunderers while the current ones as not plunderers. But perceptions can change if the current authorities create occasions.”
“Zhamanak” says that neither the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict nor the international mediators will significantly change their positions anytime soon. The paper sees the end of a 25-year “cycle” of the conflict, speculating that it may now “enter a period of cold war” involving “economic and political competition.” It claims that the Armenian side lost such competition after winning the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. “Armenia now has special starting conditions and certain positional advantage,” the paper says.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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