“Zhamanak” scoffs at Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian’s visits to Yerevan supermarkets on Thursday which were supposedly aimed at monitoring food prices and reversing their “baseless” increases. The paper says that Abrahamian should have gone instead to liquefied gas stations owned by him and his relative, Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian, to investigate a more than 20 percent increase in their fuel bought by commuter buses. It points to a continuing strike by hundreds of minibus drivers in the capital.
“If sorting out the financial market was so easy … why didn’t they take those steps earlier?” asks “Hraparak.” The paper alleges that government leaders have either enjoyed causing suffering to ordinary people or simply exploited the exchange rate volatility to earn more personal revenue.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” wonders why the Armenian dram rallied so strongly on Thursday. The paper says the authorities took credit for the appreciation and tried to show that they really care about the population. “Why didn’t they do that earlier?” it asks. The pro-opposition daily too accuses unnamed state officials of capitalizing on the currency panic.
“Zhoghovurd” claims that the public transport strike in Yerevan was incited by the municipal administration and the owners of private minibus firms, most of them senior state officials or their relatives. The paper believes that those firms could have easily reached agreements with liquefied gas stations that are also owned by government-linked individuals.
(Ruzanna Stepanian)