Armenian Press Review (February 25 -March 3)

Yerevan has been hosting a meeting devoted to the seventh anniversary of the tragic events of March 1st 2008, when a protest against the results of the presidential elections turned into a confrontation with the police, resulting in the deaths of 10 people. Now, on the eve of the extraordinary congress of the 'Prosperous Armenia Party' (PAP), the Armenian media are trying to understand what changes should be expected in the political life of the country.

The newspaper '168 jam' writes: "Prosperous Armenia has officially confirmed that an extraordinary congress of the party will be held on March 5. As for the issues that will be discussed at the Congress, although the PAP do not say anything, it is clear that the party should try to get out of the situation that arose after the recent events. The biggest intrigue, of course, is on the issue of the further fate of Gagik Tsarukyan - whether he will stay on as chairman of the party or become honorary chairman, practically removed from it? In political circles, the second option is considered as the most likely. If Tsarukyan leaves the PAP, who will take the fate of the party further - all the remaining members of the PAP or the government? Judging by the statements of representatives of the Republican Party voiced in recent days, the authorities hope or wish to turn the PAP into a fully controlled party - perhaps formally maintaining its opposition role."

According to a correspondent of the newspaper "Zhoghovurd", the extraordinary congress of the PAP, scheduled for March 5, will be held behind closed doors. The congress will be held in the central office of the PAP, located on the territory of ths "Yerevan Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory"."According to our information, Gagik Tsarukyan will participate in the congress. By the way, the performance of Tsarukyan will be organized in such a way that journalists will have no opportunity to ask him questions. The reason for the Congress being held behind closed doors is that the PAP elite fears that the situation could get out of control, because after the last known events, the elite of the party is extremely upset, and everyone will be trying to get clarification from Gagik Tsarukyan. How it will all end is hard to say. Until now, out of all the political forces of Armenia, only the ARF had a habit of conducting a convention, or, as they say, a General Meeting, behind closed doors," the newspaper said.

'Zhamanak' writes: "In fact, the ANC is in the status of being deceived. Levon Ter-Petrosyan for a long time tried to present the situation as if it controls 'Prosperous Armenia', but it turned out that the manager was Robert Kocharyan, then Ter-Petrosyan offered cooperation with Serzh Sargsyan. However, Serzh Sargsyan declined the offer because he was already able to get rid of the pressure from Robert Kocharyan and Gagik Tsarukyan without Ter-Petrosyan, and forced them, at least, to surrender. The ANC was left with nothing, and now, of course, mentioning the name of Robert Kocharyan to the ANC no longer has political significance. Mentioning the name Robert Kocharyan has only business value. In all likelihood, the PAP did not deign a reaction to the famous article of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's "Duty of the Heart," in which he attempted to "cleanse" Gagik Tsarukyan, and thus, in fact, offered him a partnership in exchange for the function of the ANC, offering Tsarukyan to clean his public rating after he surrenders to Serzh Sargsyan. It can be seen that Tsarukyan did not accept the offer, or it is possible that there was no agreement about the price of cooperation," Zhamanak sums up.

In an editorial article of the newspaper 'Hraparak' we read: "The Republicans, ironically reading the lectures of the opposition, taunting and gloating, who did not have the courage even to abstain sometimes during voting, are busy whipping the opposition. There is no morality in them, so in order to understand that split, and going through difficult days to beat the opposition at the moment would be like beating a defenseless child. In the end, it is no secret that Republican "rhetoricians" unite overbearing feeder and do not know where they would be if the Republican Party suddenly ceased being the ruling party."

In connection with the 7th anniversary of the tragic events of March 1st 2008, 'Chorrord Ishkhanutyun' writes: "March 1st 2008 marked the beginning of a new stage in the national movement. Society is experiencing difficult times - political repression, the presence of several dozen political prisoners, people who went underground, physical pressure and violence against the representatives of all parts of society - from businessmen to journalists, from workers to artists. A campaign of terror against society was declared, and society has taken up this challenge."

The newspaper Zhamanak says: "In parliament, speaking of a new anti-corruption council and the fight against corruption, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said that he has been in the post of prime minister since April, and no one can say that during this time he was spliced with business. This statement was not in the hour of humor and satire, it was in the Parliament during the questions and answers session at the National Assembly. However, tge uttering of this statement, becomes no less ridiculous for this... Such statements by senior officials in Armenia are already the best answer to the question of how the new board will fight corruption. By no means! Because for the authorities it is equivalent to suicide. In Armenia, such advice or structure is formed not to fight, that is, not for suicide, and the Armenian authorities are at least smart enough not to take such a suicidal step. The formation and operation of such structures in Armenia has one goal - to find, so to speak, secure packaging options of corruption, or in other words, to improve the lawyer's institute of corruption," the newspaper sums up.

In an interview with 'Hayots Ashkhar', the leader of the opposition party 'Free Democrats', Khachatur Kokobelyan, describes the political system of Armenia as one of the most corrupt systems in the country: "In the political arena of Armenia a large class of corrupt political "pensioners" appeared, and it has nothing to do with an age limit. If the politicians or groups select corrupt processes, it shows that they have been exhausted and they have nothing to do in politics. "

Haykakan Zhamanak notes that the sum of 6.5 million drams ($12 thousand) that the government allocated for the repair of 134 houses in six villages is equal to the amount the government spent buying souvenirs at the end of last year. "And how many villages can be restored in Armenia at the expense of the money the state spends on endless repairs of government buildings, purchase of new cars, maintenance, gasoline, tyres? A rough estimate shows that there are not enough Armenian villages to spend all this money on," the newspaper ironically notes.

The Zhoghovurd newspaper condemns the use of police force against the mothers of soldiers who died in the army in time of peace, who tried to protest near the presidential residence. "No matter how objective their demands, such an attitude to them, to put it mildly, is immoral. It is this attitude that discourages young men of military age, causes their parents do everything for their children to leave the country as soon as possible," the newspaper sums up.

"It is known that the debt of the joint stock company 'Electric Networks of Armenia' has reached astronomical figures - $250 million," Zhoghovurd writes. Let's put aside the fact that without robbery such a debt would not have been formed, but remarkably, both the Russian company owners are going to repay the debt. CEO Eugene Bibin said that the working group of the owner of the company, the Russian company "Inter RAO", is currently in Armenia and examining the state of the enterprise. But the most important thing is that the Russian side is expected to sign an agreement with Serzh Sargsyan that will allow them to renew the debts. In other words, the Russian side expects that Armenia in some way will be a guarantor of the debt. There is no doubt that Serzh Sargsyan will not dare to refuse "Inter RAO", otherwise the Russians would not have initiated the process," the newspaper writes.

The international reserves of Armenia have reached a record low for the past six years, writes Haykakan Zhamanak. "In January of this year the volume of international reserves of Armenia amounted to $1 billion 351 million. This, apparently, is a new anti-record: Armenia's international reserves have reached their lowest level in the last six years. Official statistics made public by the Central Bank tell us that. The international reserves of the country were below this figure, at $1 billion 258 million in the crisis year of 2009. However, given the pace at which our reserves reduced, we can assume that in the near future this anti-record will be updated. The fact that in December last year alone, our international reserves were $1 billion 489 million, which means that in one month they decreased by $138 million, or 10%. And compared with January last year, our international reserves fell by $90 million, or 40%," the newspaper said.

The upper echelons of the authorities have ordered to oppress their businesses more, 'Irates de facto' writes. "Meanwhile, as the Ministry of Finance of Armenia decides the fate of the "unpaid" taxes of Gagik Tsarukyan, it appears that the upper echelons of the authorities have ordered to oppress their businessmen more. According to our information, the tax office is conducting audits at factories that belong to members of the Republican Party, and imposing decent fines. Prescribing penalties to such an extent that the entrepreneurs of RPA are not upset, but "rebelling", and do not want to pay. According to the same source, appealing to the President on this issue and asking him to intervene is useless. We can only accept and pay," the newspaper comes to a sad conclusion.