From June 8 to 17, 2020, the “Media Advocate” Initiative followed online media reports on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s personality and activities. 5 news agencies were monitored: 1in.am, azatutyun.am, armtimes.com, aravot.am and tert.am.
According to the monitoring, 612 articles were published on 5 selected websites regarding Nikol Pashinyan. 115 articles of which are negative, 14 are positive and 483 are neutral.
Numerous negative articles were published on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“This is an obvious political approach, and if a verdict is to be reached, it must be reached against the current government, because Nikol Pashinyan uses the possible facts selectively to strengthen his power and oppress the opposition”, Ruben Hakobyan, a deputy of the four convocations of the National Assembly, said in a conversation with the press touching upon the criminal charges against Gagik Tsarukyan.
Referring to various events taking place in Armenia, the “Kamk” (Will) public initiative has issued a statement, which has it: “The fact that people are being subjected to responsibility for the looting and corruption of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people could only be welcomed at first glance, but on the other hand, considering the vicious looting and the widespread corruption system in Armenia over the past thirty years, no one has given the right to Nikol Pashinyan’s regime to persecute those former ones who obstruct their short-term political interests.”
PAP MP, NA Vice-Speaker Vahe Enfiajyan, referring to the issue of the Coronavirus, reminded that when they were talking about strict observance of quarantine, Nikol Pashinyan was conducting a campaign without wearing masks.
Commenting on the internal political situation in Armenia, Kommersant wrote: “The post-revolutionary government does not want to coexist with other centers of power and influence that are out of its control. Strategically, this is a difficult path. Today, the current government of the republic and Nikol Pashinyan himself enjoys popularity. But no one says that will always be this way. And if today’s circumstances change, it is possible that today’s opponents of the Prime Minister will want to treat him the same way, by means of open criminal cases. The transfer of power in this case is nothing but a fiction.”
The American New York Times referred to the decision of the parliament to deprive Gagik Tsarukyan of his parliamentary immunity, noting that “the Armenian parliament has allowed the arrest of the leader of the largest opposition faction on suspicion of fraud.” Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), one of Armenia’s richest businessmen, has denied the allegations, saying there are certain political motives. The source notes that Tsarukyan recently accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of mismanagement of the economy and failing the fight against coronavirus epidemic.
From 177 articles published in armtimes.com, 3 were negative, 2 were positive and 172 were neutral.
Referring to the decisions against him, made in the NA, Gagik Tsarukyan asked the deputies to be guided by conscience, and added that all the promises made by the revolutionary government were false and did not come true. He noted that by signing a memorandum of cooperation with Nikol Pashinyan, he wanted to help and support so that something would change for the people, so as the people’s expectations are met.
RA NA Deputy Tigran Urikhanyan, addressing the internal political situation, noted: “In 2018, when Nikol Pashinyan was still a deputy, I regularly, offered him to unite, so that Tsarukyan also joins. In 2015 when he was still the leader of the opposition party, I went and asked him to join, and let Tsarukyan also join, so as we unite the forces with all those who are against the ruling system. In 2018 he was already prime minister, I again approached him and offered him to unite our forces. At that very moment, the people were finally happy, hoping that the issue would be resolved by joint efforts, but now we have what we have. You stated it’s a war, you stated you we’re waging a war against the coronavirus, including the coronavirus that threatens us at the border. But wasn’t it possible to unite forces during the crisis? ”
Referring to the internal political situation and Nikol Pashinyan’s changes in law enforcement bodies, political scientist Movses Harutyunyan noted: “It is noticeable that Nikol Pashinyan is showing political will to fulfill his promises. Frequent changes show that he is not actually satisfied with the pace of the fight against corruption.”
From 169 articles published in aravot.am, 53 were negative, 2 were positive and 114 were neutral.
The announcement of the “Kamk” public initiative was published by the news agency. Vahe Enfiajyan’s remarks were also published by the news outlet. One could also find Kommersant’s reference to the internal political situation in Armenia.
Touching upon the spread of the coronavirus, the internal political situation, the RPA (Republican Party of Armenia) issued a statement: “We reaffirm that the only way out of the current situation is the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan’s weak government and the provision of active and professional transitional management to bring the country out of the crisis by uniting the national potential before the snap parliamentary elections.”
According to the news outlet, during the discussion of the issue of depriving PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan of parliamentary immunity, the head of the “Bright Armenia” fraction Edmon Marukyan reminded the authorities how they “made friends” with Tsarukyan, how Nikol Pashinyan stated that there are no oligarchs in Armenia and Tsarukyan is just a major property owner, how he signed a political memorandum, then how they elected a NA vice-speaker from the PAP, thus recognizing the fact that the PAP is a healthy political force: “Let’s simply discuss this honest move. A ceremony is taking place in the family of the PAP president, a wedding, people from the entire government, political elite, including Nikol Pashinyan, are taking part in the wedding, and what kind of interviews are being given by them regarding Gagik Tsarukyan these days.”
From 102 articles published in 1in.am, 7 were negative, 9 were positive and 86 were neutral.
Christian Science Monitor touched upon the internal political situation in Armenia and Nikol Pashinyan’s activities, noting: “Nikol Pashinyan does not view security through a military prism. Instead, he views security from the perspective of abolishing corruption, improving the rule of law, forming local self-government bodies, and diversifying Armenia’s economy and trade relations. According to one indicator, the level of imprisonment in the country has decreased by one third since the revolution. Pashinyan also tried to prevent a clash with Azerbaijan. The article recalls the April 2016 war and notes that the negotiations that began immediately after Pashinyan’s coming to power have stopped the violence and raised hopes for a peaceful solution.
The RPA’s statement was also published by the news agency.
From 100 articles published in tert.am, 48 were negative, 2 were positive and 50 were neutral.
The news agency published Ruben Hakobyan and Vahe Enfiajyan’s remarks.
Mihran Hakobyan, a former member of the National Assembly, referring to the events over Gagik Tsarukyan and “Prosperous Armenia” Party, wrote: “The obviously cynical political persecution initiated against Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) and the pressure on citizens protesting in the streets are clearly leading Nikol Pashinyan, who usurped the power, directly to political death.”
Political scientist Aghasi Yenokyan referring to the Prime Minister’s statement on the adoption of a new Constitution, noted the following in his Facebook post: “Nikol Pashinyan’s proposal to adopt a new Constitution is another attempt to “fiddle around”, which is condemned to death from the beginning. Nikol Pashinyan understands very well that his government will not be able to withstand any attempt of massive expression of will, such as a referendum, an election, or even a protest.”
From 64 articles published in azatutyun.am, 4 were negative, 1 was positive and 59 were neutral.
NA MP Arman Abovyan, referring to the criminal case against Gagik Tsarukyan, said that the authorities had launched an anti-propaganda campaign against Gagik Tsarukyan.
