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AS ALWAYS
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country27381.html
Published: 13:03:44 - 14/09/2012
Member of Parliament Karen Karapetyan, Republican, the ex-head of staff
of the President's Office, made a scandalous statement in an interview
with the Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun. He stated, "Over the past 20 years
we have funded programs worth 90 million U.S. dollars for charitable
ends... One can get any position with 90 million in our small country."
Most probably, Karen Karapetyan said his family implemented charitable
programs without any interest and did not pursue any political ends.
In particular, recently his name has been mentioned among likely
candidates for prime minister. Perhaps Karen Karapetyan meant that
these things should not be mixed.
However, as the Russian saying is, he wanted something better but
got as always.
Every statement he makes becomes a scandal and some subtexts are
revealed and it is hard to tell whether it is unclear wording or
sincerity.
Everyone knows that government posts and parliamentary seats are sold
but it is something else when a businessman, the ex-head of staff
of the president and member of parliament speaks about it. He knows
about the internal relations and rules of the political and business
system of Armenia. He has known it for a long time.
The trade in posts and mandates began in 1995 when the mechanism of
electoral fraud was established. At that time part of the parliament
was left to the politicians. The rest went to apolitical elements
who paid for mandates individually or to the "common budget". A lot
of outstanding representatives of the system started their career then.
This mechanism was gradually improved, refined and crystallized and
became the principle of forming the government and parliament. The
political parties and coalitions became banners for the criminal and
oligarchic groups, and behind these banners the government leverages
were transferred to these groups which were given mandates, quotas,
monopolies and preferences for their services to the high-level
authorities. The essence of this was destruction of electoral
mechanisms and accumulation of slush funds for national elections.
Contributions to the slush funds were appreciated, and the coalition
parties thus sold government positions and parliamentary seats,
directly or indirectly. The RPA and the PAP did it at a high level,
whereas the Orinats Yerkir Party regularly appears amid scandals
about the money paid by a minister or a member of parliament.
Indeed, Karapetyan's family has spent a lot of money in Armenia and
Karabakh. They funded the refurbishment of the government summer house
in Sevan and when Karen Karapetyan resigned, the government had to
allocate 140 million drams to complete the reconstruction. Karapetyan
brothers invested in the construction of the new building of the
president's office.
In brief, what Karen Karapetyan says is absolutely true. But one
cannot understand whether this is an outburst of insulted feelings or
a slip of the tongue or maybe both. Yet maybe this is a hint that his
activities are not appreciated duly. On other hand, Karapetyan has
had both a high-ranking position and a parliamentary seat. Or maybe
it is an appeal to other benefactors to do everything without noise
and political goals, as a benefactor should do, as the Bible says.
At least, if the last is true, Karen Karapetyan may become a precedent
and mark the beginning of separation of business and government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country27381.html
Published: 13:03:44 - 14/09/2012
Member of Parliament Karen Karapetyan, Republican, the ex-head of staff
of the President's Office, made a scandalous statement in an interview
with the Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun. He stated, "Over the past 20 years
we have funded programs worth 90 million U.S. dollars for charitable
ends... One can get any position with 90 million in our small country."
Most probably, Karen Karapetyan said his family implemented charitable
programs without any interest and did not pursue any political ends.
In particular, recently his name has been mentioned among likely
candidates for prime minister. Perhaps Karen Karapetyan meant that
these things should not be mixed.
However, as the Russian saying is, he wanted something better but
got as always.
Every statement he makes becomes a scandal and some subtexts are
revealed and it is hard to tell whether it is unclear wording or
sincerity.
Everyone knows that government posts and parliamentary seats are sold
but it is something else when a businessman, the ex-head of staff
of the president and member of parliament speaks about it. He knows
about the internal relations and rules of the political and business
system of Armenia. He has known it for a long time.
The trade in posts and mandates began in 1995 when the mechanism of
electoral fraud was established. At that time part of the parliament
was left to the politicians. The rest went to apolitical elements
who paid for mandates individually or to the "common budget". A lot
of outstanding representatives of the system started their career then.
This mechanism was gradually improved, refined and crystallized and
became the principle of forming the government and parliament. The
political parties and coalitions became banners for the criminal and
oligarchic groups, and behind these banners the government leverages
were transferred to these groups which were given mandates, quotas,
monopolies and preferences for their services to the high-level
authorities. The essence of this was destruction of electoral
mechanisms and accumulation of slush funds for national elections.
Contributions to the slush funds were appreciated, and the coalition
parties thus sold government positions and parliamentary seats,
directly or indirectly. The RPA and the PAP did it at a high level,
whereas the Orinats Yerkir Party regularly appears amid scandals
about the money paid by a minister or a member of parliament.
Indeed, Karapetyan's family has spent a lot of money in Armenia and
Karabakh. They funded the refurbishment of the government summer house
in Sevan and when Karen Karapetyan resigned, the government had to
allocate 140 million drams to complete the reconstruction. Karapetyan
brothers invested in the construction of the new building of the
president's office.
In brief, what Karen Karapetyan says is absolutely true. But one
cannot understand whether this is an outburst of insulted feelings or
a slip of the tongue or maybe both. Yet maybe this is a hint that his
activities are not appreciated duly. On other hand, Karapetyan has
had both a high-ranking position and a parliamentary seat. Or maybe
it is an appeal to other benefactors to do everything without noise
and political goals, as a benefactor should do, as the Bible says.
At least, if the last is true, Karen Karapetyan may become a precedent
and mark the beginning of separation of business and government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress