“You know, it was not necessarily that the USAID should have provided 750 thousand USD grant the Government, so that the latter would fight against corruption. The Government is perfectly aware of the developments in the system. And if it would even have a smallest desire it could reduce the level of corruption, which in Armenia has already become a system evil,” Mr. Styopa Safaryan, member of the Council of Elders of Yerevan, Chairman of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs (AIISA) said in the interview with Iravaban.net.
According to him, there is no confidence in the government’s anti-corruption activities and the activities of the Council and yesterday’s event was aimed to show the international community that certain activities are being carried out in this direction. “Frankly speaking, in my opinion it is done to put a “check mark”.”
Mr. Safaryan also emphasized that the fact that 4 Opposition Parties of the NA and the CSOs have refused to participate in the Anti-Corruption Council indicates the level of distrust towards the steps that the government undertakes.
“When we learned about the invitation to participate in the Council, there was a moment when we thought about joining it. But then we understood that the reasons for not participating were more than those to participate. Finally, the lessons of the Councils of the past years show that NGOs become decoration of the Government in the Anti-Corruption structures. The Government should restore the CSOs trust and prove that it is not involved in imitation activities,” Mr. Safaryan said.
Photo: tert.am
