ANC to take no part in debates on measures against corruption and monopolies

The Armenian National Congress (ANC) has no intention to take part in the debates on measures against corruption and monopolies, because it thinks that the given initiative of Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan is just an imitation.       
The ANC says in a statement that corruption and monopolies in Armenia are of structural nature and that the corruption pyramid includes the legislative, executive and judicial powers. The party thinks that if the authorities' intention to combat corruption and monopolies are sincere, they should adopt a package of anti- monopoly laws, ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption, amend the Criminal Code, inspect the expenses and income of the high-ranking officials. "Realizing that the best method to fight the negative phenomena is the fairly elected power, the ruling regime should accept all the Electoral Code-related proposals of the opposition and the civil society and provide mechanisms of control over the electoral process," the statement says. If the authorities fail to accept these demands, the anti-corruption fight will turn into a "cheap performance". 
To note, the weekly debates on the measures against corruption and monopolies kicked off on May 14. 
On May 12, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan spoke of the fight against corruption, obliging the law- enforcement departments engaged in the field to make regular reports on the process. In case of no progress, the human resources policy will be revised. He said the persons holding state positions and their relatives must not be allowed to participate in the state procurement and the program must be implemented on the government funds. He said all these measures are impossible unless there is sustainable and long-term economic growth that will allow creating new jobs and reducing social tension.  The prime minister admitted that the government was not consistent enough in fighting monopolies. On February 12, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also said that it is time to change a lot of things.  Meanwhile, many partners of Armenia, including the EU and the US, have already stated that they are going to provide no financial assistance for combating corruption until they see specific and tangible results.