“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” comments on recent days’ violent attacks on three veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war who actively participate in anti-government protests organized by Armenia’s three leading opposition parties. The paper recalls in this context that last month a member of another, smaller opposition group was beaten up in Yerevan and several others had their cars set on fire. “Note that only people with opposition views were assaulted on the street,” it says. “This gives one reason to suggest that this wave of attacks was organized from a single center.”
“Zhoghovurd” reports that General Levon Yeranosian, the commander of Armenian interior troops, on Wednesday declined to confirm or refute allegations that he was behind the beatings of two of those veterans: Manvel Yeghiazarian and Razmik Petrosian. Yeranosian tells the paper that the two activists insulted President Serzh Sarkisian. “I will cut off the ears of any person in this country who will say something [bad] about the president of the republic,” he says.
“And so this official took the two rebellious commanders to the Getap restaurant for dinner and try to convince them not to get involved in political processes,” continues “Zhoghovurd.” “When he realized that he will not succeed he warned, ‘Don’t be active.’ The commanders were attacked as soon as they got out of the restaurant. This was an act of lawlessness, a provocation.”
“168 Zham” says that Armenia is among ten countries of the world that are most dependent on remittances sent home by their citizens working abroad. “We are now paying the consequences of that dependence now,” writes the paper. “Like a drug addict highly dependent on injections, our economy has descended into a panicky mood, with the dram continuing to depreciate.”
(Nane Sahakian)