Tweet
Armenia's Prime Minister Prefers to Respond by Proxy
Levon Hayrapetyan
hetq
12:02, May 6, 2011
We've given up on receiving any information or answers from PM Tigran Sargsyan
Hetq has periodically sent a number of written requests to RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan asking that he clarify this or that statement
or government decision. Usually, they remain unanswered or else the
answer comes from a bureaucrat down the ladder and has little relation
to our original query.
Here's a recent example of this Catch 22 conundrum. We should note
that the inquiry was sent twice, once by email to the government's
press secretary and once by registered mail to the Prime Minister
Sargsyan.
Dear Mr. Sargsyan,
In January of this year, Fortune Oil, a Chinese company, purchases
three iron mines in Armenia - in Hrazdan, Abovyan and one in the
village of Svarants near the Tatev monastery complex. On February 23,
in a meeting with a Fortune Oil delegation, you discussed the
company's investment plans for these mines. Without doubt, the
Svarants operation will negatively impact the `Tatev Rebirth'
eco-tourism project taking place there.
In a press release, Fortune Oil states that in 2014 it plans to start
operating the Svarants mine. We would like to know what your opinion
is regarding the company's project at Svarants. Do you believe that
mining and eco-tourism can exist side by side?
We had to wait quite a bit to receive an answer from Minister of the
Economy Tigran Davtyan; an answer which we can only assume is the
personal opinion of Prime Minister Sargsyan.
In a nutshell, the reply states that the development rights to the
three mines in question have been allocate by the RA Ministry of
Energy and Natural Resources according to the applicable laws on the
books. (I won't bore readers with the details).
The reply goes on to state, and I paraphrase, that during the February
23 meeting between Fortune Oil and Prime Minister Sargsyan, the issue
of maintaining strict environmental standards was raised. It goes on
to say Fortune Oil's Managing Deputy Director made assurances that the
company would pay special attention to the protection of the
environment.
In conclusion, Minister Davtyan states that all appropriate agencies
of the government will closely follow the operating process at
Svarants, just as it does with other mining sector projects, to see
that all environmental norms and obligations are rigidly adhered to.
So, dear readers, these are the types of answers we receive from the
government- answers that convey little of substance, if any.
In the future, we will periodically publish other inquiries sent to
the prime minister and the `answers' received from official and
departments down the chain of command.
From: A. Papazian
Levon Hayrapetyan
hetq
12:02, May 6, 2011
We've given up on receiving any information or answers from PM Tigran Sargsyan
Hetq has periodically sent a number of written requests to RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan asking that he clarify this or that statement
or government decision. Usually, they remain unanswered or else the
answer comes from a bureaucrat down the ladder and has little relation
to our original query.
Here's a recent example of this Catch 22 conundrum. We should note
that the inquiry was sent twice, once by email to the government's
press secretary and once by registered mail to the Prime Minister
Sargsyan.
Dear Mr. Sargsyan,
In January of this year, Fortune Oil, a Chinese company, purchases
three iron mines in Armenia - in Hrazdan, Abovyan and one in the
village of Svarants near the Tatev monastery complex. On February 23,
in a meeting with a Fortune Oil delegation, you discussed the
company's investment plans for these mines. Without doubt, the
Svarants operation will negatively impact the `Tatev Rebirth'
eco-tourism project taking place there.
In a press release, Fortune Oil states that in 2014 it plans to start
operating the Svarants mine. We would like to know what your opinion
is regarding the company's project at Svarants. Do you believe that
mining and eco-tourism can exist side by side?
We had to wait quite a bit to receive an answer from Minister of the
Economy Tigran Davtyan; an answer which we can only assume is the
personal opinion of Prime Minister Sargsyan.
In a nutshell, the reply states that the development rights to the
three mines in question have been allocate by the RA Ministry of
Energy and Natural Resources according to the applicable laws on the
books. (I won't bore readers with the details).
The reply goes on to state, and I paraphrase, that during the February
23 meeting between Fortune Oil and Prime Minister Sargsyan, the issue
of maintaining strict environmental standards was raised. It goes on
to say Fortune Oil's Managing Deputy Director made assurances that the
company would pay special attention to the protection of the
environment.
In conclusion, Minister Davtyan states that all appropriate agencies
of the government will closely follow the operating process at
Svarants, just as it does with other mining sector projects, to see
that all environmental norms and obligations are rigidly adhered to.
So, dear readers, these are the types of answers we receive from the
government- answers that convey little of substance, if any.
In the future, we will periodically publish other inquiries sent to
the prime minister and the `answers' received from official and
departments down the chain of command.
From: A. Papazian