CIVIL SERVICE COUNCIL HEAD DENIES OMBUDSWOMAN’S CLAIMS

ArmenPress
Dec 17 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS: The head of the Civil Service
Council, a government body supervising selection of thousands of
employees of civil service system through competitions, denied
Thursday the arguments of the country’s human rights defender that
the staff of her office should not be subject to the same procedure.
Manvel Badalian, the head of the Civil Service Council, told
reporters at a Thursday news conference that “the human rights
defender’s staff is a classical example of civil service.”
He then shrugged off the ombudswoman, Larisa Alaverdian’s claims
that extending the procedure to her staff would restrict their
freedom and independence, saying the “level of human rights
defender’s freedom and independence is guaranteed by the Constitution
and other laws.” “Selecting members of her staff through competitions
will only make it more professional and more effective, “he argued
and said: “At any rate if it does not do good it will not do harm.”
In retaliation to other arguments that the human rights protection
is a peculiar area of activity and the ombudswoman wants to have
“reliable” staff, Badalian retorted: “But who says that the president
of the country must not have trustworthy staff or the prime minister
must not have loyal heads of departments?”
Badalian also praised the government decision to raise minimal
wages of civil service employers from 20,000 to 30,000 in 2005 and
45,000 in 2006, saying the measure will have a positive impact in
terms of attracting qualified personnel.