YEREVAN. – Perhaps the most discussed topic among the Armenian body politic is the Chamber of Control’s report on the misuse of the state budget, the government’s respective response, and President Serzh Sargsyan’s relevant consultation meeting on June 29, Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports.

“About ten months ago, Serzh Sargsyan was speaking about kickbacks and saying: ‘We will grab the big ones from the head.’ [But] ten months have passed and no ‘big head’ has been grabbed. So, for what purpose was it [i.e., the President’s aforesaid statement]?   

“The answer to this question lies in Serzh Sargsyan’s speech on Saturday [, June 29]. ‘We were the first to publicly reproach and we will reproach these phenomena. We will be the first to point to robbery. We will be the first to speak about the shortcomings,’ Sargsyan said this time.  

“And why? [Because] Serzh Sargsyan is attempting to devalue the oppositional speech. According to Serzh Sargsyan’s calculations, if the very authorities speak about the crimes committed by the authorities, there is nothing left to say anymore for the opposition,” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.