By Vestnik Kavkaza
The Armenian media is still focused on internal political events, first of all the processes over the party Prosperous Armenia (PA). Zhamanak comments on the continued process of withdrawal from the party by its members: “The question is what these people will do. Are they leaving politics in general or planning to participate in political life differently? There is no answer to this question. At the same time, obviously, those who left the party are a resource. And a resource should find its place in politics. The question is what the place will be. Will it be joining some other force or the establishment of a new force? For example, businessmen who left PA were members of Orinats Yenkir in the past. Actually, they found their place in PA. Now they have left PA. Where will they go? The problem is that settlement of their personal issues influences the whole political space,” the newspaper reports.
Ayots Ashkhar notes: “In recent days the idea of a coalition government has been discussed intensively. We believe that a joyful prospect of demonstration of their masochistic habits shouldn’t cause enthusiasm from the Republicans, as according to experience, previous coalitions were beneficial for everybody, except for the ruling party. Members of the coalition used all advantages of being ministers, but left the coalition at the right moment, stating that they were not responsible for the government’s policy. This concerned PA, Dashnaktsutyun, and Orinats Yenkir. A coalition government is able to work effectively, but at the same time, it can be useless. But the point is not in the efficiency of the government, but in the quality of Armenian politics in general.”
Zhamanak reports on the same topic: “Apparently, a new wave of developments with new vectors has started in the Armenian political space. It seems the wave has started under more controllable conditions for Serge Sargsyan, where he is not one of the poles, but the top of the pyramid of processes; he will follow the events on its slopes.”
Aykakan Zhamanak asks: “What will happen to Prosperous Armenia after its session? Serge Sargsyan has made his final decision on the issue: PA should continue to play the role of a buffer between the authorities and the opposition. Sargsyan decided to maintain PA’s status as the second largest political force in Armenia. However, previously the political force had 30%; now it will have 10-15%, as developments have confirmed that 30% is too big a number for a buffer, and it can take the situation out of control. One thing is clear - PA will be strictly controlled by Serge Sargsyan, and he will determine its place, role, and position in the political arena.”
168 Zham reports: “During the last years, Tsarukyan had constantly stated that he had nothing to lose except for trust. It seems he has something to lose. He has lost his own party. PA members stated that in a few days PA would speak in the National Assembly and state that the party would become an opposition force. It turned out that Gagik Tsrukyan prevented PA from turning into an opposition force, as he stated last year that PA couldn’t become the opposition.”
The editor of the Aravot Newspaper reports: “Politics demands adequate evaluation of resources – your own and your rival’s. PA had significant material resources and could help its partners, other parties. However, it is not enough. PA underestimated the authorities, concerning its administrative and force resources. However, this is not the key point either. The party didn’t have an ideological resource. “We are together with the people” or “We demand a change of power at once” – this is not an ideology, these are words. But this is a basis for a purely political resource.”
Who will sponsor PA if Gagik Tsarukyan won’t do it, while several businessmen have left the party? This question is asked by Zhamanak. The periodical stresses: “Obviously, global redistribution of resources is taking place in the internal field; we mean not only financial, but also human resources, as people continue to leave PA. What are their future fates? Will they join the Republican Party? It is an important question, as probably Serge Sargsyan tries to change the balance of forces in his own party by such means.”
“After the last session of PA, there is a big space for cooperation with the party,” Levon Zurabyan, the head of the parliamentary faction of the Armenian National Congress, told Chorrord Ishkhanutyun. Levon Zurabyan commented on the prospects of cooperation between the ANC and PA, considering the fact that the new leader of the party, Naira Zograbyan, stated that PA would become the opposition: “The regime initiated constitutional reforms to overcome the obstacle of “a third term” and to reproduce Sargsyan’s power. All sound forces of Armenia are united against the program of reproduction of the power; and of course we can cooperate in the sphere.”
Aravot reminds that at the meeting on March 1st, members of the ANC called President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan the only person responsible for the events which happened seven years ago. For example, the secretary of the ANC faction, Aram Manukyan, stated that the person who was responsible for the developments of March 1st 2008 was Serge Sargsyan. The newspaper asked Lyudmila Sargsyan, an MP of the ANC faction, whether it is a new policy aimed at a “cleanup” of Robert Kocharyan from the case of March 1st. She answered: “The ANC has never had the intention of exonerating Robert Kocharyan from responsibility. I think there is no sense in repeating the same names meeting after meeting. Everybody knows who is responsible for the events.”
Covering the upcoming summit of three members of the EaEU in Astana without the participation of the President of Armenia, Zhamanak reports: “Nobody has forgotten about Armenia, as nobody has ever remembered about Armenia. There is nothing new or strange about it. The absence of Serge Sargsyan confirms the natural situation. Sargsyan participates only in meetings under the authority of the EaEU, only in procedures, as beyond the procedures he has nothing in common with the Union – either economically or politically.”
The same topic is discussed by Zhovorurd: “The reality is shameful; it doesn’t matter whether Serge Sargsyan hasn’t been invited to the summit or he doesn’t want to go there. The fact is that Armenia is the fourth passenger of the “leaky boat” called the Eurasian Union; thus, if three of them come together to discuss further cooperation, the presence of the fourth member is not obligatory. What partners are they, if they forget about us?” the newspaper asks.
President Serge Sargsyan intends to present a project of constitutional reforms to the executive body of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia. “Every member of the Commission for Development of Constitutional Reforms is working on the text separately. Moreover, everyone has been separately instructed and is working on fulfillment of certain tasks, and he or she doesn’t know about the work of other members. This approach is intended si that nobody knows about all the constitutional reforms which are being developed. It is suggested that the concept of constitutional reforms and the project of reforms will be approved and published simultaneously,” Zhokhovurd reports.
Some segments of Russian society which negatively view migrants haven’t changed their attitude toward Armenian migrants after Armenia joined the EAEU, Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of the information and analysis center “Sova”, told 168 Zham.
The current economic situation in Armenia has already caused problems with filling the national budget, Aykakan Zhamanak reports. “During two first months of 2015 the budget lost about 8 billion drams. To fulfill the budget of 2015, the Committee of State Expenditures should collect 5% more taxes than it did last year. However, revenues are lower than they were last year. The biggest problems occur with value add tax. The Committee of State Expenditures hopes that it can compensate for the reduction of the budget at the expense of Armenia’s share in united customs fees of the Eurasian Economic Union. The country has been a member of the EaEU since January 2nd, customs fees from imported goods from third countries are transferred to a united account. Armenia’s share in the account is 1.13%. The problem is that import volumes to the EaEU countries have reduced drastically; it means Armenia will have lower revenues to the budget,” Aykakan Zhamanak concludes.
