CI TARGETS CORRUPTION IN ARMENIA

Lragir.am
20 April 06

The National Citizens’ Initiative (NCI) today convened a roundtable on
“Corrupt Society: Who is to Blame?” The meeting brought together social
and political activists, human rights advocates, analysts, experts,
and media representatives. Members of world donor organizations were
likewise invited to the event.

NCI coordinator Hovsep Khurshudian welcomed the audience with opening
remarks. “One of the key problems facing the Armenian society is
corruption by the ruling authorities and this vice has also spread onto
a large segment of the body politic like a virus. The mentality of and
the mode of operation by many has become fraudulent, and based upon
petty self interests, the deception, the swindling, and the abuse
of official and social status have grown to be ordinary and even
acceptable occurrences,” he said. In Khurshudian’s words, the first
ones to fight against this phenomenon that aims at damaging different
social strata must be the media, the NGOs, the political parties, and
the international donor associations in particular by whose subsidies
the civil society is established to a great extent. According to
Khurshudian, at times the financing by these associations is itself
turning into grounds for corruption and this is impermissible.

In his intervention, the first speaker, chairman Karen Hakobian of
the “Huis” NGO briefly presented the history behind and the cases of
corruption inside the “Professionals for Civil Society” NGO. He stated
that they had even appealed to the court in order to tackle this evil,
but it had become clear that the court’s ruling was already made prior
to hearing the case. In Hakobian’s words, this is not a single instance
and has become prevalent and widely accepted. All this, according
to Hakobian, brings about the incorrect handling of grants. He also
pointed out that since the Machiavellian precept of “the end justifies
the means” is still widespread and the constitutional amendments are
passed by way of falsifications in Armenia, these allotments cannot
serve their true purpose: the better protection of human rights and
societal interests.

During his talk concerning “Legalized Arbitrariness at the National
Academy of Sciences,” the next speaker, Academician Anri Nersisian
charged the Academy’s former president Fadey Sargsian of violating
numerous rules and regulations, unlawfully privatizing the property
belonging to the Academy and ineffectively managing the state funding
being made to the Academy. In Nersisian’s firm belief, this comes to
prove that Sargsian had acted in marginal self gain and usurped to
a large extent.

In her intervention on “Art and the ‘Distribution’ of Funding,” art
expert Susanna Giulamirian talked about the story of an unsuccessful
attempt at providing a grant. As the tale goes, since individual
petitions are not accepted for unknown set of rules, Giulamirian had
to appeal to a local social association in order to petition the “Open
Society Armenia” NGO for sponsoring a project called “European-style
Remodeling in the Post-Soviet Space.” And by winning the grant, she
started the project which also included the holding of an exhibition of
the works by arts and craftsmen of the region. However, the chairman of
the “Actual Art” local social association, through which the funding
project was introduced to the “Open Society Armenia” NGO, demanded
ten percent of the financial support. Giulamirian naturally refused.
Then “Actual Art’s” chairman started to threaten the latter as a
result of which Giulamirian made an appeal to “Open Society Armenia”
so as to change her partnering association. But she was denied on
the grounds that her evidence concerning the local NGO’s dishonest
conduct was impossible to confirm. Subsequently, Susanna Giulamirian
was compelled to discontinue the grant.

The remainder of the session was devoted to exchanges of views and
policy recommendations among the public figures and policy specialists
in attendance. Also noteworthy were interventions by Armenia’s first
Ombudswoman Larisa Alaverdian; Valery Brusov Yerevan State Linguistic
University professor Hrach Tatevian; legal attorney Zaruhi Postanjian;
research director of the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies Stiopa Safarian; chairman of Armenian Helsinki Association
Mikael Danielian; Ruzan Khachaturian from the People’s Party of
Armenia; Tamar Gevorgian of the United Labor Party; Gevorg Kalenchian
from the Heritage Party; Vazgen Karapetian of the Catholic Relief
Services; Gohar Armenakian from the Soldier’s Protection Committee;
chairwoman Artemis Lepejian of the “St. Sandukht” NGO; Vakhtang
Siradeghian from the Transparency International Organization; members
of other social organizations; men and women of arts and crafts;
and many others.

NCI Press Service