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ARMENIA PAYS ROUGHLY $50K TO EX-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
EurasiaNet.org, NY
April 16 2013
April 16, 2013 - 3:54pm, by Marianna Grigoryan
What's the cost of fighting for Armenia's independence? Based on a
payment to injured former presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian
for his "contribution to [Armenia's] independence," the Armenian
government appears to have calculated it at precisely 20.5-million
drams, or just under $50,000.
The gift, drawn from a reserve fund, allegedly is meant to pay for
Hayrikian, a Soviet-era independence activist, to receive medical
treatment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam for a gunshot wound to the
shoulder he received during this year's presidential campaign.
Purported health reasons aside, the lavish gesture has sparked
widespread anger. The recognition of Hayrikian's "contribution"
amounts to more than 15 times the size of Armenia's average annual
salary of 134,400 drams, or about $3,200.
Although Health Minister Derenik Dumanian has called the measure
"expedient" to "fully restore [Hayrikian's] health," some Armenians
wonder whether the payment instead has more to do with Hayrikian's
ultimate decision not to request a delay in the February 18
presidential election. The government, mindful of the controversy
over the 2008 presidential election, was eager for this vote to go
off on schedule, without a hitch.
Pro-government politicians have sidestepped such accusations, but,
so far, the government not released any independent, expert opinion
that confirms the medical need to pay Hayrikian $49,006 at taxpayers'
expense.
Representatives of Yerevan's prominent Grigor Lusavorich Hospital,
where Hayrikian was treated following the January 31 attack ,
declined to specify to EurasiaNet.org what treatment he required in
the Netherlands that could not be provided in Armenia.
The injured ex-presidential candidate himself, though, has no qualms
about taking the cash.
"Actually, I deserve a much bigger compensation," he wrote on his
Facebook page. Back in 1991, he continued, the Armenian government
had apologized and offered him compensation for the years he'd spent
in prison and internal exile under Soviet rule, but "[b]ack then,
I did not wish to increase the burden on our state."
Now, though, times have changed; the amount is "the preliminary sum"
required by "medical institutions" for his treatment and "may get
larger or decrease, depending on the course of treatment."
The reported severity of Hayrikian's wound has been as changeable as
his intentions to petition for a delay in the presidential vote.
One prominent opposition politician commented that he did not mind if
the Armenian government pays for Hayrikian's treatment, but cautioned
that such large expenses must be justified to taxpayers.
In the past, the government has said it does not have the funds to
provide for medical treatment for underprivileged children, noted
Heritage Party Secretary Stepan Safarian. It should, therefore,
explain why it has the funds to pay for Hayrikian's treatment.
"It appears that the government, for some reasons, pays attention only
to those whom it favors," said Safarian. "[T]his is just a cynical
attitude toward people and the taxes they pay."
But Varuzhan Hoktanian, executive director of the Armenian branch of
anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, cautions that
while "one cannot exclude political corruption" from the payoff,
relying on "guesswork is not correct, either."*
"The cause-and-effect relationship, the interests involved, and so
on must be disclosed to clarify the situation," Hoktanian said.
That elaboration does not look likely to come from Hayrikian himself.
In an email interview with EurasiaNet.org, he wished "their own venom
and envy" back onto those who accuse him of wrongdoing in traveling at
the government's expense to Rotterdam for supposed medical treatment.
Another ex-presidential candidate, Vardan Sedrakian, has been arrested
for allegedly ordering the assault on Hayrikian. Two men have been
detained as the supposed perpetrators.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66836
EurasiaNet.org, NY
April 16 2013
April 16, 2013 - 3:54pm, by Marianna Grigoryan
What's the cost of fighting for Armenia's independence? Based on a
payment to injured former presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian
for his "contribution to [Armenia's] independence," the Armenian
government appears to have calculated it at precisely 20.5-million
drams, or just under $50,000.
The gift, drawn from a reserve fund, allegedly is meant to pay for
Hayrikian, a Soviet-era independence activist, to receive medical
treatment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam for a gunshot wound to the
shoulder he received during this year's presidential campaign.
Purported health reasons aside, the lavish gesture has sparked
widespread anger. The recognition of Hayrikian's "contribution"
amounts to more than 15 times the size of Armenia's average annual
salary of 134,400 drams, or about $3,200.
Although Health Minister Derenik Dumanian has called the measure
"expedient" to "fully restore [Hayrikian's] health," some Armenians
wonder whether the payment instead has more to do with Hayrikian's
ultimate decision not to request a delay in the February 18
presidential election. The government, mindful of the controversy
over the 2008 presidential election, was eager for this vote to go
off on schedule, without a hitch.
Pro-government politicians have sidestepped such accusations, but,
so far, the government not released any independent, expert opinion
that confirms the medical need to pay Hayrikian $49,006 at taxpayers'
expense.
Representatives of Yerevan's prominent Grigor Lusavorich Hospital,
where Hayrikian was treated following the January 31 attack ,
declined to specify to EurasiaNet.org what treatment he required in
the Netherlands that could not be provided in Armenia.
The injured ex-presidential candidate himself, though, has no qualms
about taking the cash.
"Actually, I deserve a much bigger compensation," he wrote on his
Facebook page. Back in 1991, he continued, the Armenian government
had apologized and offered him compensation for the years he'd spent
in prison and internal exile under Soviet rule, but "[b]ack then,
I did not wish to increase the burden on our state."
Now, though, times have changed; the amount is "the preliminary sum"
required by "medical institutions" for his treatment and "may get
larger or decrease, depending on the course of treatment."
The reported severity of Hayrikian's wound has been as changeable as
his intentions to petition for a delay in the presidential vote.
One prominent opposition politician commented that he did not mind if
the Armenian government pays for Hayrikian's treatment, but cautioned
that such large expenses must be justified to taxpayers.
In the past, the government has said it does not have the funds to
provide for medical treatment for underprivileged children, noted
Heritage Party Secretary Stepan Safarian. It should, therefore,
explain why it has the funds to pay for Hayrikian's treatment.
"It appears that the government, for some reasons, pays attention only
to those whom it favors," said Safarian. "[T]his is just a cynical
attitude toward people and the taxes they pay."
But Varuzhan Hoktanian, executive director of the Armenian branch of
anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, cautions that
while "one cannot exclude political corruption" from the payoff,
relying on "guesswork is not correct, either."*
"The cause-and-effect relationship, the interests involved, and so
on must be disclosed to clarify the situation," Hoktanian said.
That elaboration does not look likely to come from Hayrikian himself.
In an email interview with EurasiaNet.org, he wished "their own venom
and envy" back onto those who accuse him of wrongdoing in traveling at
the government's expense to Rotterdam for supposed medical treatment.
Another ex-presidential candidate, Vardan Sedrakian, has been arrested
for allegedly ordering the assault on Hayrikian. Two men have been
detained as the supposed perpetrators.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66836