“Zhamanak” criticizes the passage of a law criminalizing illegal enrichment of Armenian state officials, saying that in fact the authorities are offering amnesty to their corrupt loyalists in advance of the April 2017 parliamentary elections. The paper argues that the law will come into force in June and have no retroactive effect. It says many senior officials are already so wealthy that they have “enough possibilities of legally enriching themselves.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” scoffs at President Serzh Sarkisian’s complaint that few prominent Armenian intellectuals and artists publicly condemned last July’s deadly attack on a police station in Yerevan which was carried out by opposition gunmen. “This episode demonstrates Serzh Sarkisian’s views about the main role and mission of artists,” writes the pro-opposition daily. “From his perspective, they should use their fame and urge the people to show understanding for the regime’s crimes.”
“Zhoghovurd” reacts to the Armenian government’s decision to classify information about “protocol expenditures” of Armenia’s president, prime minister and parliament speaker. “Is information about expensive brandy and paintings purchased by the presidential administration or the government a state secret? Of course not,” comments the paper. “Why is this bill so vital [for the government?] There will be parliamentary elections in our country in 2017. Delegations, including international observers, will be visiting the country. And [the authorities] will need to hand secret gifts to all of them … so that they turn a blind eye to vote irregularities.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” is worried that a new law which took effect on Thursday may eventually push up the retail prices of medicines in Armenia. “The thing is that the new law seriously limits so-called parallel imports of drugs,” says the paper. “Up until now it was possible to import certain medication not from its manufacturer but from, say, Russia, where it costs much less. Such imports may stop altogether after the entry into force of this law.”
(Tigran Avetisian)