Published since 07.2002
Published on July 18, 2008
POLICING POLICE: CRACKDOWN ON COP CORRUPTION GETS MIXED REVIEWS
- Speeches by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan that “the number one enemy of Armenia is neither the problem of democracy, nor the lack of freedom of expression, but corruption” bring their practical results moving from inside the building of the government house to the streets. The traffic police officers that symbolized corruption since the Soviet times, are doomed to work honestly, despite many qualify this as a ‘temporary action’. Even so, the law abiding drivers won’t be forced to keep a 5,000 dram ($16) bill in their driver’s license at least for that period of time. A month ago the new President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan stated at a meeting with the police representatives a demand “to eradicate impertinence and misbehavior on the roads.” However, it was the fact of not punishing the privileged drivers rather than the corruption that appeared within the focus of the President’s attention. “Two months ago I got a question on what I am going to do in regard to children of officials and those people considering themselves as privileged, who violate traffic rules. I answered: ‘I will do and you will see,’” said the President recalling a case known to almost every driver. “A column of expensive cars with so-called ‘good license plates’ [the plates are called ‘good’, when numbers and letters on them repeat] passes by a traffic officer and the officer finds no better solution but to turn away and pretend not seeing. Even more, he finds a poor driver and tries to fine to create an illusion of working. This is unacceptable.” Margar Ohanyan, head of traffic police says the President’s statement was very much a necessity, because it was an order addressed to both the police and the officials in particular. “Although the police used to close eyes on a violation made by a son of an official, now they can’t do that,” says Ohanyan. Ohanyan points to the figures showing how brave has the police become; there are 22,310 registered cases of violations for the last month, which exceeds the average statistics of the previous months for 8,000. “All this shows the violations not registered before do not escape the look of the police now,” says Ohanyan. In addition, two police have been fired for corruption. Salaries of policemen have been raised to about $600-660 a month, in an effort to discourage extortion. Hmayak Hovhannisyan, chairman of the Political Scientists’ Union of Armenia qualifies the vigor in fighting corruption a ‘political action’. “These shows are aimed at drawing the public attention away from the core issues and the most urgent problems. But the public understands it very well,” says Hovhannisyan, a former member of parliament. However, “Achilles” non-governmental organization engaged in the protection of the drivers’ rights has registered a tendency of decrease in the number of corruption cases in the sphere. “About 70 percent of calls received on our hotline referred to corruption cases and ungrounded money extortions some 6 months ago; today their number is less than 10 percent,” says the chairman of the organization Eduard Hovhannisyan. Drivers’ opinions are controversial about the road reforms. Some are glad “the law is for all”, others insist the intensifications burden the pocket books of average citizens all the same. “The fines have grown dramatically, but those 20,000 drams ($60) are not a big deal for the rich people, so we will be those to suffer the consequences. Besides, it is simply impossible to avoid violations on the jammed streets and they know it very well themselves,” says Misak Margaryan, a taxi driver. Another taxi driver shared the concerns of the big fines saying, paradoxically, bribes are a salvation in many cases. “One could give the policeman some 20,000 drams ($60) and be done, if they recorded a violation and handed you a check in 100,000 drams ($330) before; but now it has become impossible and those 100,000 drams rise to 300,000 ($990) in case the fine is not paid within a one month period. How can I pay it if I earn 5,000 drams a day?” the taxi driver says annoyed showing the checks for, as he says, the ‘minor’ violations of the last month that make 50,000 drams ($165) in total. Hovhannisyan also complains of the fines underlining the necessity to revise them [the amounts] or else, he says, half of the republic will face a court. The fines range from 3,000 to 300,000 drams (about $10 to $1,000). Everything would be OK if no new toughening of the rules was introduced within the last year. According to the new rules the sum of the fine triples in case of not paying within a month and makes 5 times more in case of not paying it in 2 months. “This rule is for serfs not citizens. There is no such dramatic increase in any other country. This also contradicts the provisions of our Civil Code that set increases in percents, say 50, but not 300 or 500 percent,” says Hovhannisyan. The drivers’ rights activist has sent suggestions for amendments in the law to the National Assembly, but expects response no sooner than the end of the year. Meanwhile, the citizens who have accepted the challenge of driving in the streets of Yerevan will content themselves with a unique opportunity to communicate with honest police officers.
- Gayane Abrahamyan
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Today in Armenian history- 1894 Birth of Vahan Totovents (writer). He was murdered by the Soviet Secret Police in 1937.
- 1914 The Central Committees of Taron and Sassoon present the reform program to three embassies in Constantinople.
- 1938 Birth of Perch Zeytuntsyan (playwright) in Cairo (Egypt).
- 1988 The USSR Supreme Soviet, relies on Article 78 of the Soviet Constitution (prohibition of any territorial changes to a Union Republic without its consent) to deny the 1988 02 20 petition by the Autonomous Region of Nagorno Gharabagh to rejoin Armenia.
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