No systemic changes in New Armenia to eradicate corruption – analysis
By Aghasy Yenokoyan
Political analyst
The "skinheads" of the criminal oligarchy, who ruled the former state of Armenia, had created a kind of corrupt regime whose only purpose was their own enrichment at the expense of massively impoverishing the people. That system replaced the real political, economic and social relations in the republic, creating a kind of atmosphere in which people would say one thing and act just the other way about, enrooting the traditions of lying and stealing.
A school principal would, under such conditions, prefer to hire a bad rather than a good teacher in return for certain money rewards or other services from the former. That system would make it more advantageous to steal, rather than construct, the North-South highway, as only the former scenario promised enrichment to the decision-making official (with the latter being aimed at an uncertain future and unknown people).
What needs consideration here are certain specificities, which virtually transformed those actions into a single system.
First, without backsheesh to the principal, the teacher's position would remain vacant in schools for months and even years, whereas the highway would never be constructed - unless, of course, the ways of appropriating the allocated assets proved really impossible to find. That's to say, the system wouldn't simply work ... without corruption. Second, all this was was being done “within the frameworks of the law” … Despite the systemic nature of corruption, neither corrupt [officials] nor even their direct victims would yell out in public to make their deeds known.
Obviously, the numerous unfair deals, unjust and awkward affairs, the government decisions made in favor of "skinhead" oligarchs, the state procurements which weren’t absolutely the best, the tax apologies granted without any logic … all this kind of evoked suspicions of a corrupt system.
Hence, New Armenia came into being as a sign of protest against this widespread corruption. People took to the squares, unable to any longer tolerate the anti-popular regime which thought but about its own enrichment (instead of the country’s development or the people’s social well-being). Shortly after assuming the office of Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan launched the campaign against the "skinhead" oligarchs, taking some to the National Security Service (NAS), [threatening ] to “level others to the asphalt” and “knock many others into the wall”.
Yet, no systemic change, promising to disintegrate the existing corrupt system, is virtually taking place now, with the oligarchs returning home from NAS, “rising from the asphalt ground” and “detaching themselves from the walls”. All this causes them to leave Armenia in fear, taking along all the money they can or (if impossible) keeping the capital here until the situation calms down a little bit. Whereas those people are confident that the situation will return to what it formerly was, with no structural reforms being implemented …
The dissolution of parliament and snap National Assembly elections are the declared objective in the large-scale campaign against corruption. We find, hwoever, that there is a false syllogism behind all this. First, no legal initiative aimed at disintegrating this corrupt system has been submitted to the National Assembly so far to evoke counter-reactions by the criminal-oligarchic parliament[arians].
Furthermore, what we mean by saying corruption implies, virtually, dishonest transactions with the authorities. The majority of the current parliament has nothing to do with the authorities at present; moreover, they oppose to the latter in an attempt to make it more controllable. The oligarchs practically see that the government has no desire to make them its “corruption stronghold”, hence they are quite likely to welcomingly adopt any law restricting corruption risks by the government, thereby increasing their business opportunities. Also, it has been repeatedly stated that businessmen oligarchs will always obediently vote “for” any cabinet-proposed decision if that potentially relieves them from unnecessary burden. It is important to have the clear understanding that only a government wishing to dissolve the “disobedient” National Assembly for certain purposes can be the source of corruption.
This disrupted logical connection of accusing our parliament of corruption is being constantly instilled in the society by the authorities and the media, with the National Assembly having turned into a kind of scapegoat facing criticism for any awkward step. It now also serves as a serious guideline for the crowd in the squares, encouraging them to seize the National Assembly, because here where are the people who practically prevent us from building a state free from any corruption to allow everyone to feel really proud, living wealthy and happy.
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