SPEAKER SAYS LAW DEFIES PRIVILEGES

Lragir.am
06 April 06

A two-day international conference of representatives of the
parliament, the government, the civil society, the mass media and
international foreign organizations started April 6 on the role of
National Assembly – civil society cooperation in the struggle against
corruption. The conference was organized by the National Assembly of
Armenia, the Eurasia Foundation, the OSCE, the United States and UNDP.

During the sessions debates will be held on corruption and black
economy, the role of the public control bodies and mass media in the
struggle against corruption, and other issues.

The conference was opened by Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan. Considering
the struggle against corruption a political priority, Arthur
Baghdasaryan emphasized 10 main directions. The activity of
governmental agencies must be transparent and effective. “We cannot
spend both much and badly, we have to consolidate government expenses
and upgrade their effectiveness.” The second priority is, according
to the speaker, persistent and unbiased application of the law. “The
law must not allow privileges, the law must not accept voluntarism,
bureaucracy, official abuse in the struggle against corruption.” The
third priority is to enhance struggle against black economy and fourth,
“progress is impossible without judicial reforms.” “The citizens must
be aware of their rights. The motto “if you do not know your rights,
you do not have rights” is up-to-date.” This is the fifth priority that
Arthur Baghdasaryan pointed out. Hence the speaker of the parliament
emphasizes the importance of civil society and free press, as well
as the parliament’s controlling functions in finance. Responsibility
and “consistent and coordinated struggle” is the way to reach this,
believes Arthur Baghdasaryan.

In this anti-corruption plan Arthur Baghdasaryan lays emphasis on
membership to GOPAC. About 200 parliamentarians of over 60 countries
are members of this organization, established in 2002. The three main
components of the working style of this organization are mutual aid,
clearly-set goals and training among government officials on their
role.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress