Artur Sakunts: “Corruption remains unsurmounted in our country”
12:30, March 23, 2018 | News, Other news
Recently US Ambassador to Richard Mills mentioned in an interview with one of the Armenian media outlets that there are corruption risks in Armenia which lead to the closing of markets and the creation of unfair competition.
Mills also indicated that this is the very reason why people, including those from the United States, are unwilling to make investments in Armenia. “I think that this manifestation of corruption and the abuse of power continue to be the biggest challenge and obstacle in Armenia,” highlighted Mills.
Touching upon the aforementioned theme in an interview with HayNews.am, human rights defender Artur Sakunts mentioned that the picture presented by the US Ambassador to Armenia is on point and objective.
“And I should mention that before the US Ambassador came up with those assessments, we, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the experts and non-governmental organizations, had also repeatedly raised the alarm about that, mentioning that corruption remains unsurmounted in our country. We do not see any effective institutional, legislative and political will aimed at fighting corruption. Yes, institutional and legislative changes are necessary. Besides that, we do not see political will,” said Sakunts, recalling that the Ambassador had mentioned in his speech that people avoid making investments in the Republic of Armenia.
According to Sakunts, many citizens of the US who are of Armenian origin have made investments here. However, those investments have simply been taken from their hands. “These people did not manage to succeed, and were even unable to get back the property seized from them. Thus, the US Ambassador confirmed or reconfirmed what we have repeatedly talked about through studies and specific facts,” concluded Sakunts.