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According to representatives of Transparency International Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Center, Journalists’ Club Asparez in Gyumri, and Vanadzor’s Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HCA), struggle against corruption in Armenia is not productive at all, “even though the statistical data of the Prosecutor-General’s Office show the opposite.”

The Interests Protection and Support Centers in Vanadzor, Gyumri and Yerevan (coordinated by the three organizations) has received more than 1,300 appeals, 360 of them referring to corruption, and the rest were mainly connected with abuses of authority since 2008. (The goal of the Interests Protection and Support Centers is to promote public engagement in the struggle against corruption, as well as to contribute to anti-corruption systemic reforms in Armenia.)

The centers’ activities have revealed a number of legislative shortcomings promoting the spread of corruption cases, resulting in violation of human rights. They are mainly shortcomings connected with the process of filing criminal cases over corruption-related crimes, determined by legislative imperfection, and an inappropriate response to crime cases by law enforcement authorities.

At a press conference on Friday Sona Avagyan, representative of TI’s Anti-Corruption Center, said that mainly elderly citizens, who are in danger of losing their property, turn to them.

“Do you know how immense corruption in the education system is? But we had only one case registered from that sector. That is to say, it is very hard to deal with a case without a concrete complaint,” Avagyan said, adding that achievements in struggle against corruption are registered in those cases when citizens turn to them at the initial stage.

Coordinator of HCA Vanadzor Arthur Sakunts said that the whole state system “patronizes” corruption, and in rare cases when an official is punished, it happens simply because he or she carried out a corruption activity without permission from higher authorities.

Head of the Asparez Club Levon Barseghyan reminded a case when a citizen turned to them with a complaint, and they suggested him to turn to a corresponding attorney, however, the affair was not set going.

“I asked the attorney what had happened, and the attorney replied that the citizen had asked him whether he could bribe the judge,” Barseghyan said.

http://www.armenianow.com/social/human_rights/23857/armenian_anticorruption_centers_about_monitoring
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter