THREE BAD AND ONE GOOD NEWS FROM ARTHUR BAGHDASARIAN
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. One reassuring and three facts
causing anxiety have been observed in the social-economic and
interpolitical life of Armenia in the passing year. This statement was
made by Arthur Baghdasarian, the Chairman of the Orinats Yerkir
(Country of Law) Party, at the press conference held on December 26.
He mentioned that the unprecedented rise in prices and the
unforeseeable drop in the value of the U.S. dollar recorded recently
cause anxiety in the social-economic sphere. The rise in prices,
according to Arthur Baghdasarian, is conditioned by the existence of
economic entities playing a prevailing role in the domestic market of
Armenia. And such fluctuations of the value of the dollar, which do not
exist in other countries, in his words, are directly "attacking upon
the pockets of thousands of Armenians, who receive assistance from
abroad."
According to Arthur Baghdasarian, irrespective of the fact that the
two-digit economic growth is much spoken about in the country, the rich
become richer and the poor poorer as a result. In his words, the 75% of
the whole wealth of the country is in the hands of 35-40 families.
Approximately 980 thousand people are poor or extremely poor, 930
thousand people do not have a job, and the 70% of the unemployed are
women.
As good news Arthur Baghdasarian mentioned the circumstance that the
return of investments is continuing, for which 1.3 billion drams will
be allocated by the state budget.
Touching upon the interpolitical life, the speaker mentioned that the
materials concerning the candidates running for presidency are
unproportionate in the TV air and "a unilateral and eulogical
propaganda" is being carried out in favour of the candidate of the
authorities. The Chairman of the Orinats Yerkir Party also declared
that the direct interference of local self-governmental bodies in the
pre-electoral processes is continuing, which puts to question the free
and fair holding of the forthcoming presidential elections. In addition
to this, according to him, "a mass brain washing process is taking
place through false surveys."
In the words of Arthur Baghdasarian, the good news in the
interpolitical life is that the atmosphere of fear "has been broken" in
society. According to him, the fact speaking about it is that people
are not afraid of taking part in the rallies regularly organized by the
opposition forces in the capital.