Epress.am News from Armenia
The lack of a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict fuels corruption because it keeps Armenia’s borders closed and, when borders are closed, it is easier for powerful business people and others to control economic markets and close off competition, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills stated on Wednesday, speaking at the meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce of Armenia in Yerevan.
“The more time I spend in Armenia, and certainly in the tragic aftermath of last April’s fighting, the more I realize how much the lack of a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts diverts precious resources – both Armenian and those provided from Armenia’s international and diaspora friends – from our shared goals and, frankly, the priorities I and my Embassy have set for ourselves. […]So as a preface to the rest of my remarks, let me underscore the continuing importance and priority the Embassy, the U.S. Government, and I personally will continue to give to achieving a peaceful settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh’s future,” Mills said.
He went on to declare that he was “pleased and encouraged” by the fact that Armenia’s new Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan “has made the fight against corruption a priority in his public remarks.”
“While the link between corruption and economic development, and between corruption and rule of law, have always been apparent, recently we’ve seen more discussion in Armenia about how corruption can impact and threaten national security. When I mentioned the intersection between corruption and national security in my speech to the AmCham 15 months ago, many people were surprised, many were dismissive. I don’t claim credit at all, but I think this issue is now more frankly addressed in Armenian political debates, and with proposals for serious action from the government, than it has been in the past. Certainly the public discourse during and after the Four-Day War in April highlighted the corrosive effect corruption can have on national security and brought the issue into the public spotlight,” Mills said.
The ambassador suggested that Armenia’s government “must strengthen and empower public institutions at all levels and send a clear message from on high that corruption will not be tolerated and that no one is above the law. Absent this message, no truly transformative change can occur.”
To effectively tackle corruption, Mills added, the government should consider “establishing a fully independent anti-corruption body with full investigative and prosecutorial authority. […] This seems a propitious time for the government to consider this suggestion, as we understand the Prime Minister is currently deciding how to restructure the existing Anti-Corruption Council and formalize the connections and lines of authority between the Anti-Corruption Council and other bodies with anti-corruption mandates.”