Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public Council

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public Council

    President.am, Armenia
    July 10 2009


    President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public Council


    Today, President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public
    Council.

    In his opening remarks the President of Armenia particularly said,
    `This is our first meeting since after the Council has been
    fully formed. I cordially congratulate all 36 members and wish you
    productive work.

    This is an exceptional institute, whose configuration and charter have
    been designed and formed out of state structures. The election of its
    members has also taken place in an unprecedented manner. And the
    outcome of this enterprise depends primarily on all 36 members of the
    Council. I have no intention of downgrading the role of the
    Presidential Staff and our state structures: What I mean is that the
    extent of our assistance will depend on your activities. We are ready
    to discuss any initiative, to listen to your opinion, and it will be,
    of course, a part of our work.

    I am familiar with the Charter of the Public Council, I also know that
    your decisions are not mandatory for the state governing bodies, and
    will bear no direct influence on the policies. But we all also
    understand that this structure has been created to influence the
    policies. At first, it may sound as a contradiction, but it is clear
    for me that there is no contradiction at all. If the state governing
    bodies act based first of all on the power of law, your activities
    will be based on respect, authority and public trust. I am happy that
    the Public Council comprises individuals who posses all of these
    qualities. And I hope that this structure will acquire your personal
    qualities.

    I would not wish for the Council to become a closed club, but rather a
    great venue for exchanging opinions, listening to new ideas, and
    adopting decisions. This is my vision of the Council's work, and I
    would like to repeat that this is an important structure, and I didn't
    pursue any other option.

    I want your participation in the decision making to be
    significant. The President and the state are interested in your
    participation in important decision-making; by participating in
    decision-making you also participate in the implementation of those
    decisions and advocate them. In state structures we can obligate the
    state employees to comply through orders, laws, government decisions,
    but in this structure the role of the people who entered it and make
    decisions on voluntary basis is, certainly, different. I sincerely
    believe that this structure will deliver.

    You see, from the moment the idea emerged, there were people who
    labeled the structure without even knowing what its charter would be
    like. I am confident that you and the mature part of our society
    realize very well why this whole process of discrediting was
    started. If we understand that simple thing, it means that we should
    be mindful of it in our work and implement ideas not to convince
    someone that their approaches were wrong, but to build a better state,
    to make our society a better one.'

    The Chairman of the Public Council Vazgen Manoukian informed the
    President of Armenia on the formation of the Council's
    commissions and other administrative issues. He said that through the
    commission formation process, a great number of people volunteered for
    help and as a result the commissions have engaged high-class
    professionals from different areas.

    The Chairman of the Council expressed confidence that the structure
    would be able to discuss many issues of public concern and find
    avenues for their solution. He also informed that the Council has been
    already receiving many letters which are being sorted by the topics
    and analyzed to identify issues of common concern.

    Vazgen Manoukian noted that all democratic states have similar public
    structures which bring significant participation to the resolution of
    social issues and play a reconciling role when interests of different
    social groups collide.

    During the working discussion, the members of the Council raised a
    dozen questions pertaining to science and education, culture,
    environment protection, economy, Armenia's presence in international
    information flows, and creation of the system of values for the
    younger generation. President Serzh Sargsyan suggested that in its
    future works the Council undertakes the development of concrete
    proposals for the resolution of these issues.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Working...
X