VAZGEN MANUKIAN CONVINCED THAT PUBLIC COUNCIL TO MANAGE TO FIND WAYS OF SOLVING PROBLEMS CONCERNING WIDE SECTIONS OF POPULATION

Noyan Tapan
July 10, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met
with the members of the Public Council on July 9. Noting that this
is the first meeting since the full formation of the Public Council,
he congratuled the 36 members of the Council and wished them fruitful
activity.

Then S. Sargsyan in particular said:

"What has been created is an unprecedented body whose structure
and regulations were developed and formed outside state bodies. Its
elections were also held in a way having no precedent. What we will
receive as a result depends on all the 36 members of the Public
Council.

I … know that your decisions are not subject to compulsory execution
by state government bodies and will not have a direct effect on
the policy.

However, it is clear to all of us that this structure has been set
up to have an impact on the policy. At first glance it seems to be
contradictory, but it is obvious, at least to me, that there is no
contradiction here. The state bodies act first of all by the force
of the law, whereas respect, authority and public trust will play an
essential role in your activities…

I wouldn’t like the Public Council to become a structure resembling
a closed club…

I want you to play a significant role in decisions to be made. The
interest of the president and the state here is that while
participating in important decision making, you should become the
executors and, most of all, spreaders of these decisions…

>From the very first day of voicing the idea, some people started
sticking labels on this structure, not even knowing under what
regulations it will function. I am convinced that both you and the
mature part of our society understand very well why this discrediting
process has begun…"

According to the RA presidential press service, then Chairman of the
Public Council Vazgen Manukian presented the formation process of the
Council’s commissions and other organizational issues. He said that
during the formation of the commissions, a lot of people expressed
readiness to work on a voluntary basis, which allowed including highly
qualified experts of various spheres in the commissions.

He expressed confidence that the body headed by him will manage to
discuss the problems concerning wide sections of the population and
find ways to solve them. In his words, the Public Council has already
received many letters, which are classified by subjets and analyzed
so as to specify problems of general importance.

V. Manukian said that bodies like the Public Council exist in all the
countries proceeding along the path of democratization, and these
bodies take a considerable part in solution of social problems and
also act as a conciliator in case of a clash of interests in society.