“Zhoghovurd” comments on the statements made by Constitutional Court Chairman Hrair Tovmasian on Constitution Day that was marked in Armenia on July 5. “And who is now speaking about the protection of the Constitution? It is the person who was a key figure in the former Republican government and is the main author of the current Constitution that was tailored to the needs of former president Serzh Sarkisian and several others so as to ensure their continued stay in power… It can be certainly said today that the parliamentary form of government is a ticking bomb for the statehood of Armenia,” the paper contends.
In the context of the recent news that investigators have summoned former President Robert Kocharian for questioning in connection with a deadly post-election crackdown on opposition protesters in Yerevan in 2008 “Zhamanak” remembers the ex-leader’s infamous statement made in 1998 that he saw “no man in Armenia who could carry out a change of government.” “Talking to journalists then Kocharian elaborated on his ‘only man’ principle on the basis of which he ruled for 10 years, laying the foundation for two decades of kleptocracy… The ‘only man’ myth has been busted before everyone’s eyes as Kocharian and his successor Serzh Sarkisian found themselves in total isolation. Criminal prosecution against them is a matter of days, probably weeks.”
“Hraparak” says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian continues the “tradition” of former heads of government who surrounded themselves with numerous advisors. “According to the official website of the prime minister, Pashinian has one chief advisor, four advisors and seven advisors who work without a salary – 12 advisors in total. It is difficult to say what kind of advice they give to the prime minister and whether he follows all of them or any of them. Let’s hope that he is not guided by the principle laid down in the famous saying that ‘one has to listen to all pieces of advice, but move on using one’s own brain’.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” sees an upward trend in the real estate market, implying that it may be the result of the recent change of government implemented through peaceful street protests. Invoking the latest official statistics, the paper reports that housing prices in May went up in all districts of the Armenian capital. “It is difficult to say how far this is connected with the ‘velvet’ revolution in Armenia, but it is remarkable that during the first three months of the year housing prices were going down as compared with the corresponding period of last year and in April real estate prices went up slightly only in several districts of Yerevan,” the paper writes.
(Anush Mkrtchian)