Time to turn words into actions
Editorial

Yerkir/arm
November 26, 2004

Anonymous letters about a phenomenon, snitching on colleagues,
internal `investigation’ These techniques of the 30’s of the pasty
century appear to be actual today.

Recently, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s Nikol Aghbalian
Youth Organization organized a seminar on the issues of corruption in
universities. When it is about condemning corruption, everyone
including professors, students and rectors, join in. Everyone supports
the fight against it, but as it comes to actual steps against the
phenomenon, different process starts.

A student that signed the memo against corruption during the seminar
withdraws his say and condemns not the corruption but those fighting
against it. A rector investigates those who participated in the survey
that recognized his university as corrupted, trying to clean up the
name of his institution. A professor makes students write a collective
letter condemning the students who ` disgraced the reputation of their
university.’

Certainly these people have names and surnames, but it is not our goal
to give names. However, if they continue to use the repressive methods
for `keeping the honor’ of their institution, we will have to
publicize them. We will keep a close eye on this process and will
address the fight against that vicious phenomenon. Universities are
not private companies and are meant just to prepare professionals for
the country.