The Head of the RA NA Delegation to OSCE PA Eduard Aghajanyan gave a speech at the OSCE PA International Conference on Combating Corruption Defending Democracy: The Role of National Parliaments held in Nicosia.

“Dear colleagues,

The title of current debate is “The contribution of independent institutions and the media in preventing and fighting corruption.”

Indeed, the proper institutions and more specifically the media have an irreplaceable role in fighting corruption.

But with your permission I would like to talk about the “The contribution of independent institutions and media in fostering corruption.”

As strange as it may sound, this is the topic that is most often discussed by the citizens of Armenia as of late. And I will elaborate on this shortly.

My colleagues from the Armenian delegation have mentioned about the institutional reforms that have taken place in post-revolution Armenia and the practical implications they have had on both the international image of the country, as well as on the internal matters.

However, the bigger part of the Armenian society is not satisfied with the pace of the anti-corruption reforms to say the least. And coming to the initial question, which was about the way those same institutions and namely the media foster corruption, it so happens that in Armenia approximately 80% of the media is controlled by oligarchs who in turn happen to be representatives of former political elite – also known as the current opposition parties.

And this situation creates objective dissatisfaction from the society, which is well informed on the actual proprietors of those media, as well as about all the wealth that has been accumulated by the same elite throughout the past 25 years.

And when a country finds itself in a transitional period from autocracy to full democracy, the very independent institutions which are there to guarantee the rights and freedoms of all individuals and entities within a country are being exploited to the maximum by the agents who have long been in the positions of disregarding those very rights and freedoms.

And when the democratic institutions are not holistically established yet, the government faces a challenge and a dilemma, having to choose between the short-term satisfaction of public expectations and the long-term formation of appropriate institutions.

So far our government has chosen the second path, because we believe that democracy and democratic institutions prove their worth and resilience in the long run and we do have enough political will to withstand the tides that will be coming and going till then.

Here once again, I would like to stress the crucial role of the support that Armenia has been receiving from several OSCE member states in its democratic reforms and anti-corruption agenda, in the form of both financial and technical support. And we intend to further this cooperation with our international partners because the people of Armenia stand firm on their will to be a free and democratic society, where the page of autocracy and corruption are far behind.

Having said this, I believe that exchange of experience is of utmost importance for the OSCE member states. And dear colleagues, I openly invite you to look into the Armenian case, as a very peculiar and interesting example of a country where often democracy is used to destroy democracy, and the role that political will and other factors play in preserving democracy in such a delicate situation.

Thanks for your attention.” the deputy noted.