“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that public reactions to the death of former National Security Service (NSS) Director Georgi Kutoyan exposed the “terrible atmosphere of mutual hatred and intolerance reigning in Armenia’s political and quasi-political circles.” “It was terribly unpleasant to watch sides try to draw dividends from that tragedy, accuse each other and come up with unsubstantiated theories,” writes the pro-government paper. “Unfortunately the causes of that are deep and decades old.” It blames Armenian security services for this situation, saying that they have long meddled in political processes in the country.
“Past” criticizes the recent toughening of financial and other penalties for traffic rule violations in Armenia. The paper says that it created unequal conditions for motorists. In particular, it says, the most serious of those penalties cannot be enforced against the owners and drivers of cars with Russian license plates.
“Not every protest is aimed at progress and the authorities must not cave in and take steps backwards under such pressure,” writes “Hraparak.” “But what keeps hundreds of ‘parasites’ within the government from coming out, going to those [protesting] people, talking to them, explaining things and telling them that even if they suffer from a particular [government] decision now the country as a whole will benefit as a result?”
“Zhamanak” comments on a letter which Nairi Hunanian, the leader of an armed group that launched a deadly attack on the Armenian parliament in 1999, has sent to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The paper says any fresh testimony by Hunanian must be taken seriously and investigated by law-enforcement authorities that recently reopened their probe of the 1999 killings. It says at the same time that Hunanian’s claims must not be taken at face value. “It is very important that the authorities, political forces and the public do not succumb to the ringleader’s provocations,” it says.
(Anush Mkrtchian)
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