Armenian aide says government corruption not universal

Arminfo
11 Mar 05

Yerevan, 11 March: Political corruption in Armenia has a structural
nature, the Armenian president’s adviser on issues of fighting
corruption, Bagrat Yesayan, told a news conference at the National
Press Club today.

Yesayan said there is plutocracy in the country when power is bought
for money and then used for making money. At the same time, the
presidential adviser rejected claims that the Armenian authorities
were universally corrupt.

“There are honest people even in the higher echelons of power, people
who come to work in the morning, conscientiously do their work, then go
home in the evening and spend their time with their families,” he said.

Touching on the activities of the body he heads, Bagrat Yesayan
said 97 anti-corruption programmes had been prepared and were due
for implementation by 2007. He said 10 working groups involving 128
public organizations had also been set up to supervise specific areas
of the anti-corruption fight.

The presidential adviser said that the council he heads does not
have the executive function and only has the right to monitor the
situation in different spheres. However, he said working groups under
the council maintained close cooperation with the executive branch
and provided it with the collected information.

Bagrat Yesayan said the council would soon submit suggestions to the
government on reforming the anti-corruption programme. The adviser
said the shift to a completely proportional system of parliamentary
elections was one of the ways to fight corruption.