At a rally on Oct. 15 Armenia’s first president, the leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress Levon Ter-Petrosian made a lengthy speech on corruption and the need to combat it.

“This system of gang rule, which was formed after the crime on Oct. 27, 1999, is surviving and thriving only due to centralization and elimination of a state-political counterbalance, so that legislative and judicial bodies, puppet parties, pseudo-intelligentsia, electronic media have become an appendage and support of the authorities - in other words accomplices in crime. Corruption would not have been so rampant if a counterbalance and a free press existed.

“Usually, the most obvious manifestation is the so-called shadow economy, which for various reasons, remains out of the authorities’ control. However, I dare say that in fact there is no shadow economy in Armenia. Our authorities are so well-organized and careful that nothing escapes their notice, and no shadow can exist without their knowledge, which means that all the criminal economic activities are directed and guided by a single center. Therefore, it is not the shadow economy, but robbery or state racketeering, which forms two budgets of Armenia - one is officially released, the other in the authorities’ pocket. The second is much larger than the first. Moreover, if half of the budget were not stolen, our country’s budget would be U.S. $5-6 billion instead of $2.5 billion. In other words, the average salary would be $566 instead of U.S. $283. A person receiving 50,000 AMD was would receive 100,000 AMD, and one receiving 100,000 would receive 200,000. More specifically, a monthly salary or pension is stolen from each of us,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

“All that is stolen is stolen from the people. Consequently, the social polarization is deepening, the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer and are forced to leave the country. The objectives pursued by the predatory authorities are nothing but the use of all facilities for the welfare of a limited number of people by robbing their own people. All this cynicism is covered by the slogans of patriotism, national interests, Genocide recognition Karabakh’s independence or under the arrogant words addressed to Turks and Azerbaijanis. However, it is obvious that the Homeland for them is nothing but an occupied territory or, in the best case, an ‘object’, public interests are personal gain and recognition of the genocide and the liberation of Karabakh are the cheapest coin for illegal purposes,” said the ANC leader.

“And that’s not all. It is clear that, with a real budget of U.S. $5-6 billion, besides wages and pensions, the funding to all the public sectors, including rehabilitation of the disaster zone, army, health, education, science and culture, must be doubled. How even the officially announced budget is being squandered needs a special mention. In short, if more than half the national wealth were not plundered, we would live in a qualitatively different country, whose population would not be forced to embark on large-scale emigration. Now, we realize the extent they are robbing our country to.  Why does most of the population live in poverty? What is the reason for the large-scale emigration? Putting up with all of this will mean admitting the lack of honor of the nation, which is a tragedy.

“Corruption has struck all the higher echelons if the Armenian authorities – from the heads of administrations to ministers, governors, judges, prosecutors, mayors, generals and the majority of MPs. There is not a single senior government official who – even in the name of his mother-in-law – has not opened up business or amassed enormous wealth. Nor is there any business that generates at least U.S $500 a month, from which a government official does not get a share. Despite the fact that corruption, in one form or another, exists in all public institutions, it has penetrated even in the school, which may have a destructive impact on education of generations. The opening of foreign language schools, in turn, will further deepen tendency to perpetuate the corruption in this sphere,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

According to the Opposition Leader, rampant corruption is the result of sophisticated mechanisms.

They are:

- Almost complete monopolization of the economy, particularly imports

- Sale of state property at prices far below market prices

- Holding fake auctions and tenders

- Artificial revaluation of the national currency

- Squandering of public reserves in order to preserve the stability of the dram

- Decreasing imports of monopolized goods

- Statistical data manipulations

 - Granting of unwritten tax and duty concessions

- The distribution of quotas on imports

- Targeted enlargement of the state apparatus

- The established order to keep big business out of taxation and hang up the tax burden entirely on the small and medium businesses

- Creation of a variety of suspicious funds and the opening of extra-budgetary accounts

- Unjustified rise in prices for consumer goods

- Cooperation with foreign criminals and mafia elements

- Shadow transactions in the offshore areas

- Registration of ownership and business activities in the name of relatives

- Finally, illegal tax administration, buying and selling profitable positions, money laundering, and common bribery.

Armenia’s first president referred to the reports in the Russian press, saying that the high ranking officials of Armenia are totally corrupted. According to him, indirect proof of corruption is authorities’ refusal to file lawsuit against the media to refute certain publications. The opposition leader stressed that the Armenian oligarchs have become unwilling hostages of the situation, adding that many of them would be happy to work within the law and pay taxes. However, the authorities treat them as servants of the regime. They can be easily imprisoned with help of gathered discrediting evidence.

Ter-Petrosyan called Armenian corruption not socio-economic but political evil that led to the tragic March 1 events in Yerevan. According to him, corrupted high ranking officials, being closely tied to criminalized oligarchy, felt great fear of losing power, namely their looted property. “My surroundings and I quietly resigned in 1998, as we had nothing to lose. Position of the present administration radically differs,” the oppositional leader said.

Ter-Petrosyan expressed confidence that present widespread corruption, failure to hold free and democratic elections are conditioned by lack of willingness to implement law, but not lack of legislative framework. “Taking into account the mentioned facts, we can assert that prepared amendments to the Electoral Code in practice will lead to much worse elections than those held before,” the ANC leader stated. He also noted that West’s policy of tolerance towards the corrupted Armenian authorities is a crime against the Armenian people.

The first president of Armenia expressed confidence that incumbent authorities have no intention to combat corruption, as it is disadvantageous for them and would stop their financial flow. While the international agencies are indifferent with fighting this evil society must take on responsibility with assistance of the ANC.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan stressed that looted wealth of the authorities should be returned to common people, not by means of nationalization but based on norms of the international law. As to the present oligarchs and big businessmen, they should pay all taxes.

The oppositional leader deems that if the things do not change radically (which is possible only if there is a change of power) the state of corruption in Armenia can lead to complete catastrophe, fraught with unpredictable consequences.