Yerevan is a state within a state - Oskanian
Ahead of the Yerevan municipality elections, former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has addressed the problems in the capital city, describing Yerevan as a small state within a larger country.
The politician, who tops the proportional representation list of Prosperous Armenia (of which he became a member before the 2012 parliamentary electitons), says on his Facebook profile that the party is doing all its best to succeed in the upcoming polls.
“This election is strictly important. In formal terms, yes, it is a municipal election, but as a matter of fact, it is of a state [significance] given Yerevan’s weight across the republic. With its potential and capacities, Yerevan is a state within a state. I would like our society too, to treat this election with maximum seriousness, considering its significance on both political and municipal levels,” reads Oskanian’s post.
Elaborating on the political aspects of the process, the former minister says further that the situation in Yerevan is almost the same as in the country in general.
“There are many unresolved problems, gaps, abuses, non-transparent deals and procedures which have their essential negative impact on the residents of Yerevan,” he says, attributing the existing difficulties to what he describes as a kind of provincial approach to the capital city.
“That’s obvious everywhere – at public events, in the construction quality and the city decorations. We must change our philosophical approach to Yerevan and treat the city as the capital of not only Armenia but also the Armenians worldwide, and as a favorite place for foreign visitors. With such a philosophy, we would have essentially contributed to changing the city’s appearance and quality, as well as resolving the most elementary everyday problems of the population,” Oskanian continues.
He then singles out four basic areas where he sees problems.
“The first are the questions relating to the Yerevan residents' everyday life – water supply, waste disposal, transportation, education, healthcare, opportunities for individuals with Disabilities. Often, there’s not only no progress, but also deterioration. The question, however, is that all problems are possible to solve in case of a proper and effective governance.
The second is the city’s architectural appearance. We definitely have a regress here. Illegal development activities, tasteless and dangerous building roof extensions, architectural constructions incompatible with the national [culture], etc. The mayor should have a primary task to stop the capital city’s distortion, and later think seriously of re-establishing what we have lost over the course of years.
The third [problem] are the red tapes at the City Hall and the regional administrations.
The citizens’ contacts with municipal authorities should be maximum facilitated and made transparent.
And finally, it is necessary to change the business environment in Yerevan, creating equal opportunities for all businesses to enable their participation and victory in the bids announced by the City Hall. [It is also important] to increase the financial opportunities and set a task to make Yerevan fully self-satisfied in financial terms,” says Oskanian, encouraging the Yerevan residents to actively take part in the upcoming polls to help change the situation in the country.
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