"Haykakan Zhamanak," reporting on official ceremonies dedicated to the 43th birthday anniversary of the late Vazgen Sarkisian says, the Yerablur military cemetery where the assassinated prime minister was buried is the only place where his erstwhile friends "can stand each other's presence." "If Vazgen had been alive, they would have tolerated each other, would not have betrayed and eaten each other," the chief of the Armenian military police, Vladimir Gasparian, tells the paper. However, Chief Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian sticks to his belief that "all friends of Vazgen remain in the same camp."
"Hayots Ashkhar" discusses the apparent consolidation of small opposition parties sympathetic to former president Levon Ter-Petrosian. The paper claims that they want to cash in on a new geopolitical situation in the region. The former ruling HHSh, the largest of those parties, is seeking to again take on the role of a "party of peace" with the ultimate aim of placing Armenia within the American orbit. The pro-Ter-Petrosian parties will heavily exploit the country's economic difficulties, forgetting about their own failings.
In an interview with "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun" National Democratic Union leader Vazgen Manukian makes his case against the existing "semi-presidential" form of government, saying that it prevents Armenian parties from becoming key players in the political arena. This in turn keeps the country from stepping on the path of democratization, Manukian argues. He also says a mere change of leadership will not solve Armenia's problems.
"Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that rival factions of the Armenian Communist Party are heading for a showdown. "The party may soon have a new first secretary," it says. The current Communist boss, Vladimir Darpinian, is quoted as saying that he will quit only if the majority of the party's central committee members demands his resignation. Darpinian, more importantly, does not rule out such possibility.
"Azg" says despite the assurances of the Armenian leadership the growing U.S. military presence in Georgia may eventually threaten Armenia's national interests. Yerevan may have little cause for alarm now, the paper says, but "tomorrow there may be dangerous developments that can have important consequences for Armenia's future." "Any provocation destabilizing the situation in Javakhetia would seriously complicate Georgian-Armenian relations. And an escalation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict would jeopardize the only railway passing through Georgia and linking us to the outside world," writes "Azg." A U.S. military engagement in the region could also increase Turkey's influence.
(Vache Sarkisian)
"Hayots Ashkhar" discusses the apparent consolidation of small opposition parties sympathetic to former president Levon Ter-Petrosian. The paper claims that they want to cash in on a new geopolitical situation in the region. The former ruling HHSh, the largest of those parties, is seeking to again take on the role of a "party of peace" with the ultimate aim of placing Armenia within the American orbit. The pro-Ter-Petrosian parties will heavily exploit the country's economic difficulties, forgetting about their own failings.
In an interview with "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun" National Democratic Union leader Vazgen Manukian makes his case against the existing "semi-presidential" form of government, saying that it prevents Armenian parties from becoming key players in the political arena. This in turn keeps the country from stepping on the path of democratization, Manukian argues. He also says a mere change of leadership will not solve Armenia's problems.
"Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that rival factions of the Armenian Communist Party are heading for a showdown. "The party may soon have a new first secretary," it says. The current Communist boss, Vladimir Darpinian, is quoted as saying that he will quit only if the majority of the party's central committee members demands his resignation. Darpinian, more importantly, does not rule out such possibility.
"Azg" says despite the assurances of the Armenian leadership the growing U.S. military presence in Georgia may eventually threaten Armenia's national interests. Yerevan may have little cause for alarm now, the paper says, but "tomorrow there may be dangerous developments that can have important consequences for Armenia's future." "Any provocation destabilizing the situation in Javakhetia would seriously complicate Georgian-Armenian relations. And an escalation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict would jeopardize the only railway passing through Georgia and linking us to the outside world," writes "Azg." A U.S. military engagement in the region could also increase Turkey's influence.
(Vache Sarkisian)