Government Officials Live in Luxury while Poverty-struck Children Starve.

The National Statistics Service of the Republic of Armenia has released the annual report that poverty in the country has declined by 2% in the year 2014. This is in comparison to the previous year’s report which claimed that 32% of the population was living in poverty. However, it remains a mystery how poverty could be declining when the citizens have not experienced an up rise in their economic lives. Let’s take a look at the data collected by the NSS. The newspaper, Haykakan Zhamanak (armtimes), wrote that “…according to this report, 900,000 people in the country are poor. In 2014, the NSS considered the exemplary poor man to be one whose monthly income does not exceed 40,264 Armenian drams. It is called the “upper poverty line.” There is also a “lower poverty line,” which according to the NSS, amounted to 33,101 drams. Those Armenians, whose average monthly income does not surpass that line, are considered very poor. 8.6% of the population, or 330,000 people, fit into those parameters. There exists yet another category of extremely poor. For these people, their monthly income does not exceed 23,384 drams. (More here.)<<<enter link>>>

The people of Armenia have stopped believing in these statistics a long time ago, for the reality they witness paints a completely different picture. It must be addressed that it is reasonably difficult for the people to comprehend the following astonishing events: the increase in the number of voters, despite the increase in emigration, the unyielding amount of income growth and poverty reduction recorded…

This incredible reality has deteriorated people’s dignity to the point that many have obediently accepted their “inadequate” existence. So, the majority of citizens cuss and curse at the omnipotent gangs who forcefully seized power in Armenia and wrought a criminal government. The conducts of all the branches of the state system is “demolish while they haven’t caught up.” This belief is further strengthened when you learn of this or that state official’s financial ability to rise. From the declarations of the Ethics Commission of Parliament, we realize that several government officials’ stated amounts are much more than their annual salary, meanwhile, their wives receive tens of thousands of dollars from anonymous sources. In particular, the head of the National Security Service, Gorik Hakobyan’s, unemployed wife received a donation of 19 million drams last year and bought an apartment. On the other hand, the head of NSS’s financial wealth grew by 10 million last year, reaching a total of 38.5 million drams. Must I add that his annual salary does not reach $10 million? The RA Police Chief, Vladimir Gasparyan, declared that his annual salary amounts to 7 million drams. As for the police chief’s wife,  she has managed to accumulate 30 million drams, 18,000 dollars, and 24,000 euros, despite having an annual salary of 3 million drams. The wife of Prosecutor General, Gevorg Kostanyan, has 200,000 dollars, but her salary does not exceed 3,500 dollars. She received a 100,000 dollar anonymous donation in the year 2011. In the same year, Kostanyan received yet another anonymous donation, this time of 35 million. Thirty-eight-year-old Kostanyan, as of last year, had more than 170,000 dollars, even though in his position, he receives barely 20,000 dollars a year. By the way, the figures stated in this publication do not include the cars or apartments bought by the officials. The Transparency International Anti-corruption Center has repeatedly addressed aloud corruption risks, but Serzh Sargsyan did not consider it appropriate to give the right to the Commission to investigate the declarations of the high-ranking officials. In fact, the commission studying the risks of corruption continues to do mechanical work by taking statements from the officials and publishing them on their website. The listed names are not the only ones, for the list is quite long and full of  with the names of the Prime minister, ministers, and other state officials.

Armenia is not a rich country, however, it is surprisingly convenient for those unprincipled and corrupt people who wish to get rich very quickly. Do you want to get rich? For this one must become a member of the ruling party, and then proceed to hold a high public chair. Every Armenian knows that Armenia’s wealthy are state officials, who acquire wealth not due to their professional knowledge, but due to their corrupt system, and the vulnerability of defenseless families, the elderly, and children.

Photographs by Narek Tumasyan, Shiraz Center.