“Zhoghovurd” comments on former foreign minister and current Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) member Vartan Oskanian’s statement that he is ready to run for president in next year’s election, wondering if it is another case of him “putting the card before the horse”. The paper writes: “It is remarkable that Oskanian for the first time spoke openly about his presidential ambitions on the day when he was charged with committing a crime, thus increasing what the BHK describes as the “political component” in the prosecution. The question, however, is if Oskanian made that statement after coordinating it with BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian or he once again ‘rushed in’, putting his party in an awkward and rather difficult position.”
“Zhamanak” sees a more cautious approach of Tsarukian to the Oskanian case now than it was a few months ago. It writes that even after charges were brought against Oskanian and former president Robert Kocharian spoke out on the matter the millionaire businessman who heads the BHK is still avoiding any public commentaries or statements regarding the case. “Remarkably, when the case against Oskanian had just started, Tsarukian said he was ready to engage ‘internationally reputed’ lawyers for Oskanian’s defense. But today we see that even in this matter Tsarukian is not in a hurry. Tsarukian appears to have decided to follow the course of the Oskanian case for a little longer to see whether there might be any hidden traps in it for him personally and to make sure Oskanian is not a bait with which the authorities want to catch a bigger fish, him.”
The “Aravot” editor expects a ‘classical’ rivalry in the February presidential election if things in terms of possible candidates stand as they are now in the next few months. He writes: “It turns out that Serzh Sarkisian is the best presidential candidate for the Republican Party of Armenia, which is clear without any analysis. The [main opposition] Armenian National Congress’s best choice is Levon Ter-Petrosian, the BHK has either Gagik Tsarukian or Vartan Oskanian. Unless something extraordinary happens in the next few months, these four political figures will be the main candidates for presidency. If it is so, then I think there rivalry will be more peaceful and, to say so, more classical than ever before. I already said in the past that I see no danger from these four figures, because being very different they all are sane persons without any mental deviations.”
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” reproaches Armenian political parties for their slowness in announcing their presidential candidates appealing to the moral rather than legal aspect of the matter. The opposition daily argues that every additional day of political uncertainty only adds to the growing outmigration of the population. “True, the law does allow nominating candidates only two months before the election. But are political parties responsible only before the law or they also have certain obligations to society? On the average up to 400 people emigrate from Armenia on a daily basis, and they are leaving the country because they don’t know whether they should or shouldn’t expect something to change in Armenia. In short, this suspense only prolongs the uncertainty of the situation and keeps up the current pace of outmigration.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
“Zhamanak” sees a more cautious approach of Tsarukian to the Oskanian case now than it was a few months ago. It writes that even after charges were brought against Oskanian and former president Robert Kocharian spoke out on the matter the millionaire businessman who heads the BHK is still avoiding any public commentaries or statements regarding the case. “Remarkably, when the case against Oskanian had just started, Tsarukian said he was ready to engage ‘internationally reputed’ lawyers for Oskanian’s defense. But today we see that even in this matter Tsarukian is not in a hurry. Tsarukian appears to have decided to follow the course of the Oskanian case for a little longer to see whether there might be any hidden traps in it for him personally and to make sure Oskanian is not a bait with which the authorities want to catch a bigger fish, him.”
The “Aravot” editor expects a ‘classical’ rivalry in the February presidential election if things in terms of possible candidates stand as they are now in the next few months. He writes: “It turns out that Serzh Sarkisian is the best presidential candidate for the Republican Party of Armenia, which is clear without any analysis. The [main opposition] Armenian National Congress’s best choice is Levon Ter-Petrosian, the BHK has either Gagik Tsarukian or Vartan Oskanian. Unless something extraordinary happens in the next few months, these four political figures will be the main candidates for presidency. If it is so, then I think there rivalry will be more peaceful and, to say so, more classical than ever before. I already said in the past that I see no danger from these four figures, because being very different they all are sane persons without any mental deviations.”
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” reproaches Armenian political parties for their slowness in announcing their presidential candidates appealing to the moral rather than legal aspect of the matter. The opposition daily argues that every additional day of political uncertainty only adds to the growing outmigration of the population. “True, the law does allow nominating candidates only two months before the election. But are political parties responsible only before the law or they also have certain obligations to society? On the average up to 400 people emigrate from Armenia on a daily basis, and they are leaving the country because they don’t know whether they should or shouldn’t expect something to change in Armenia. In short, this suspense only prolongs the uncertainty of the situation and keeps up the current pace of outmigration.”
(Tigran Avetisian)