RA GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS TRAFFICKING

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| 21:23:03 | 17-06-2005 | Social |

“Armenia is a source country from where women and girls are trafficked
mainly to the Arabian Emirates and Turkey with the aim of sexual
exploitation”, said US State secretary chief advisor, head of the
Human Trafficking Combat and Monitoring office, Ambassador John Miller
during today’s interactive TV-press conference organized by the US
Embassy to Armenia.

According to Mr. Miller, the basis of the office report were the
calculations of the UN according to which in the Arabian Emirates
and Turkey there are about 1000 Armenian prostitutes. The majority
of them are victims of trafficking.

By the way, According to the calculations of the Armenian Investigating
Journalists Association President Edik Baghdasaryan, in the Arabian
Emirates and Turkey there are not 1000 but about 5000 Armenian
prostitutes. Mr. Miller was greatly surprised by the facts and
demanded proof on what was said.

According to the report of the US State secretary chief advisor,
The problem of trafficking is so serious in Armenia that is has
been included in the special control list, “The RA Government did
not represent sufficient proof that the efforts directed to the
combat against trafficking have been enhanced. The Government has
not carries out investigation of the Prosecution which was accused
of supporting the traffickers. The Prosecution bodies have supported
those organizing trafficking, and the border-guards, taking bribes,
have secured the free transportation abroad.”

Stating that the RA Government does not fully correspond to the
criteria combating trafficking, Mr. Miller mentioned that in our
country the punishments for this kind of deeds are too mild. Besides
accusations, John Miller was not able to represent names of victims of
trafficking or clear-cut cases, but he tried to explain the difference
between those who take up prostitution on their own initiative and
the victims of trafficking.

Try as he did, we did not manage to find out the proportion of the
trafficking victims in the number of one thousand prostitutes. In
the end we asked Mr. Miller how much money was spent by the office to
prepare the report without any facts and full of accusations. “Hundreds
of thousands. 8 people worked on the report”, answered Mr. Miller.