Interview:
On a Mission to Expose Police Corruption in Armenia
Ianyan Magazine
By Liana Aghajanian on April 21st, 2010
By now thousands have watched the impromptu video shot by a Diasporan
Armenian when Armenian Police stopped him and the dramatic encounter
that followed.
After being falsely pulled over for speeding a few months ago and
being harassed and kicked in the legs by a police officer, Dro, who is
going by his first name for the purposes of this report, has been
carrying a video camera with him when driving in order to protect
himself from police officers who think they can bribe him, he
said. His intention of filming was also to show local Armenians that
they can stand up to police and demand their rights.
While corruption in Armenia is a significant problem, with
Transparency International’s 2009 Global Corruption Report ranking the
landlocked region 109 out of 180 countries on its list, road traffic
and driver license corruption falls under that cloud.
A 2007 Global Integrity Report written by journalist Seda Muradyan
explored this issue. `Experts blame the country’s penchant for
corruption, rooted in Soviet times, which expanded into independent
Armenia,’ the report said. `The non-transparent work of the police
also plays a role.’ `Corruption in the road traffic field is
conditioned by lack of transparency … there are numerous reasons
… the laws include discriminatory provisions, violations of human
rights; this also provides the basis for corruption risks,’
Hovhanisian said. `The laws contain ambiguous or unclear definitions,
which enable the inspectors to interpret the laws at their discretion,
which results in the conflict of interests and corruption risks.’
A 2005 report by Anna Saghabalian on armtown.com revealed that bribing
Armenia’s traffic police is a regular, ordinary custom.
`A typical kickback for avoiding legal punishment for an alleged or
proven violation of traffic rules is 1000 drams (just over
$2). Officers patrolling streets or highways are allegedly obliged
transfer a large part of that money to their superiors. Another source
of illegal payments is `technical inspections’ which each of an
estimated 250,000 cars registered in Armenia must undergo once a
year.’
Recently, President Serge Sargsyan demanded a tougher crackdown on
government on corruption, as corruption-related prosecutions saw a 40
percent surge in Armenia, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Born in Iran and raised in America, Dro moved to Armenia one year ago
because he feels that it is his country.
`I see no point of living in a foreign country now that we have an
independent country and specially if one is able to find a job here,
have a successful business or live on previous investments or
retirement money,’ he said in an email interview. He took some time
out to answer a few questions below.
Q. What prompted you to video tape the two policemen who stopped you?
A. Armenia’s traffic police department has a horrific history of
stopping cars for false or no reason in order to obtain a quick
bribe. Armenia’s drivers who mostly either don’t know their rights nor
the driving rules because they have illegally bought their licenses
rather than passing tests, are quick to give bribes. Although the
situation with falsely pulling over drivers has much improved in the
last couple of years, old habits do still existent in today’s police
force.
Q. Why did they stop you, and why do you think they stopped you?
A. I think they profiled me for having a new pickup truck and a new a
license plate number, assuming I’ll have money to spare them instead
of demanding my rights and honesty.
Q. What is the police force like in Armenia? What is your general
opinion of them?
A. I have to admit that in the past year or two, the level of traffic
police work has been much improved in Armenia and it’s clearly
noticeable in the lawful and organized driving in Yerevan. I wouldn’t
dare drive in Yerevan a few years ago and you’d rarely see women
drivers back then, because driving was lawless and chaotic. Today the
situation is much different and in fact for the first time ever in
Armenia, cars are now forced to stop for pedestrians crossing the
intersection. However, there is still a lot of work left in order to
get most of the police force to work correctly and ethically.
There is also a big problem with some of the current traffic laws in
Armenia which are intended for the police to apply the law in order to
make money, instead of the law having an importance for safety or
orderly driving. For example the most ridiculous law recently passed
in Armenia which forbids drivers from smoking in cars, while of course
smoking is allowed in restaurants, offices, some hospitals and no laws
exist against underage smoking. In essence this new law is there for
the police to make more money by either writing a ticket or taking a
bribe, rather than for any health or safety reasons.
Q. Were you ever afraid while you were doing it? There was one point
where you got out of the car, which as I’m sure you know in the
U.S. you can’t really do if a policeman/policewoman stops you – how
come you did that and how did you feel?
A. I usually get out of the car in order to watch the video of the
incident in the police car. I’m not afraid of being taken into custody
or them using physical force. The only thing I fear and am careful of
is that they don’t go crazy and draw a gun.
Q. Was this your first run-in with the police in Armenia?
A. I’ve been coming to Armenia since 2000 and on my first experience
being in a car in Armenia as a passenger coming out of the airport, I
remember being pulled over for no reason. The airport used to be a
favorite place for the police to pull over drivers with passengers,
because those who flew indicated that they had money. Even back then
as a passenger I would always warn my drivers ahead of time that I
will not allow them to give a bribe and would usually do the arguing
with the police until we were let go. Writing a ticket was almost
unheard of a few years ago, you either paid a bribe or argued your way
out.
Q. Why do you think it’s important for others (including the Diaspora)
to see this?
A. It’s especially important for Diasporans who will be visiting
Armenia to put aside the notion that `when in Rome do as the Romans
do’. Diaspora Armenians that visit Armenia have a unique opportunity
to help improve this country by demanding the same type of treatment
and legal rights they have in Western countries, from Armenia. The
best way we can improve this country is to help bring its standards up
to the levels we’re used to in America or Europe.
Watch the video, `Armenia, Yerevan’s Corrupt Police Terror Continues.’
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