SMALL AND MEDIUM IN ARMENIA IS RELATED TO CORRUPTION RISKS – EXPERT
ARKA
Nov 3, 2009
YEREVAN, November 3. "Small and medium business is related to
corruption risks", said Arman Saghatelyan, Deputy Chairman of Armenian
PR Association.
"Despite the existence of large taxpayers, small and medium business is
the main part of economy and internal industry. This sphere is mainly
related to corruption risks in the process of interaction with state
structures", said Saghatelyan on Tuesday during the press-conference
and announced the start of the program "Force out corruption from
our lives". The program was organized by Armenian PR Association and
assistance of the program of mobilization of anti-corruption actions
of US Agency of International Development.
The main group of the program consists of representatives of small and
medium businesses in Armenia because this sphere provides the main
employment of the society. "Our task is to present the population
in cooperation with mass media more successful measures of struggle
against corruption", he said. Despite long anti-corruption process
in Armenia, the country will at last apply measures for the solution
of the problem which are applied in civil societies. Saghatelyan said
that recently the issue of transit role of Armenia and its position in
the region is being discussed, but no one speaks about the mentality
of Armenians whether they are ready to be integrated in the given
processes or not.
"I think that till we understand that applying to the court is a norm,
but not exception, we will not have balanced state between executive,
court and "forth" authorities. We can protect our civil interests and
interests of institutions which are fundamental, for example small and
medium business", said Saghatelyan. The main idea of the program is
to demonstrate to the society that if we want to protect our rights,
we should show them the ways to it.
"Real and practical steps, samples, directions and understanding is
needed, if we want to have legal country and civil society", he said.
Besides participation in court proceedings and discussions of issues
on struggle against corruption, we will create Internet page for
discussions and presentation of the product to the society which is
envisaged in the frames of the program. Honorarium fund will also be
established, from which payments will be made to the journalists.
Tatev Pirumyan, Executive Director of Armenian PR Association said that
preparatory activities for implementation of the program have started
in October. "We established contacts with 20 agencies of mass media
which will participate in court proceedings related to corruption
cases", said Pirumyan. Each month discussions with representatives
of mass media, lawyer-experts and representatives of judiciary system
will be organised.