“Zhoghovurd” comments on fresh wildfires that have erupted in Armenia in recent days. “It seemed that the authorities and the Ministry for Emergency Situations have drawn lessons from the [recent] fire in the Khosrov forest,” writes the paper. “But that was not the case.” The paper criticizes the ministry’s emergency teams for their failure to use modern equipment in battling the fires.
“Zhamanak” says statistical data released by the government shows an increased outflow of capital from Armenia. “Saying that Serzh Sarkisian or Karen Karapetian or other current or former officials are to blame for this would mean saying nothing,” writes the paper. “Karen Karapetian has spoken of prospects for an investment boom, upcoming investment programs worth $3.2 billion,” writes the paper. “Where are they? On the other hand, Armenia’s entire government system is to blame for the investment drought in the country.”
“Hraparak” follows up on its revelation that the teenage son of Hrazdan’s Mayor Aram Danielian, who recently ran over and killed a man while driving his father’s car, has received a medal for academic excellence from President Serzh Sarkisian. Ruzanna Muradian, a parliament deputy from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), assures the paper that the award must not be seen as an order to cover up the deadly accident. “If the guy really demonstrated excellence in his studies, the award is only aimed at taking note of that fact,” she says. “This must not be a subject of speculations.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” sees “dangerous calm” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, saying that no serious armed incidents have been reported from the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” in the last two months. “Azerbaijan has refrained from provoking serious incidents on the borders for two months,” the paper says. “There has been no change of Azerbaijan’s agenda. Ilham Aliyev must have had a serious reason to take such a long break.”
(Tigran Avetisian)