Armenia uses "Spanish game" to play trick on world

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

The Armenian society was surprised with the Spanish El Mundo newspaper's special edition featuring interviews with the number of Armenian public officials, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan in particular.

On December 30, 2014, El Mundo dedicated its colorful pages to the promising words and pledges by the high-level Armenian officials - Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Yervand Zakharyan, Head of the Armenian Agency on Development Robert Harutunyan - who have unequivocally hailed the controversial progress in the post Soviet country, which is now facing a drastic economic comedown.

Several other representatives from various public organizations and industrial sphere joined the country's top figures to disguise the falling Armenia with their ardent praises about the "blossoming" country of the South Caucasus.

But the jamboree of the top Armenian officials, particularly Abrahamyan, on Spanish media, was lately unmasked by the local media, when 1in.am, an influential media outlet, revealed the real scenario behind the "Spanish game."

According to the 1in.am, the Armenian government has paid about 30,000 euros from the state budget to El Mundo for publishing a special edition devoted to Armenia.

Robert Harutunyan, Head of the Armenian Agency on Development, was the volunteer mediator between the government and Spanish newspaper, said 1in.am.

Prime Minister Abrahamyan's extravagance amid the deepening crisis in his country sparked public outrage, as he has reportedly transferred the money to El Mundo's bank account from the state budget, which hangs on a hope to receive external debts to heal the country's bleeding economy.

The Armenian public officials (they can be called oligarchs, too) have made it a tradition to pay for publications on the world's influential media giants.

Gagik Tsarukyan, Head of the opposition Prosperous Party and one of Armenia's well-known tycoons, has earlier paid $15,000 to the Independent Newspaper, a Russian media outlet, and voiced his comments on the socio-economic condition and internal-external policy of Armenia, according to the 1in.am.

The media outlet has also exposed that the journalist, who take the interview with Tsarukyan, was not the employee of the Independent Newspaper.

All eyes were on former speaker of the parliament Hovik Abrahamyan also in last December, when he walked through the supermarkets of the capital city Yerevan with an invisible "magic wand" in his hands to reduce the hiking food prices.

Abrahamyan was also in focus, when Hraparak, a local newspaper, reported that he fell into a panic after being aware of a fire in the parliament's central building in last May.

According to the newspaper, a luxury car has approached the building when the firefighters were extinguishing the fire. Several young men rushed into the building in a panic to take out several dozens of suits and suitcases. It was further revealed that the car belonged to Abrahamyan and the young men were his bodyguards to save expensive suits and things of the premier.