Reasonable Reform Request

I recently attended a program where the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund was discussed. The organizers pointed out flaws in the work of the organization, mostly in its form, and saw corruption manifested through those flaws.

There is no question that corruption is rampant in the Republic of Armenia and throughout the former USSR. It should come as no surprise that Armenia Fund could be susceptible to some of that.

Of course, it is obvious that the Armenia Fund does important work in our homeland. So there’s a dilemma: How to continue reaping the benefits of this effort while minimizing its problems, in this case corruption? This applies even to the appearance of corruption, which can harm an organization’s credibility and ability to perform its duties.

Someone came up with an excellent suggestion at the close of the program.

It turns out that quite a few members of our two republics’ governments sit on the board of the Armenia Fund. The number cited during the program was 13 (though at least some are not government officials, despite being part of the homeland’s current power structures). This serves no purpose. Guidance as to what projects the Armenia Fund should undertake can be delivered to its Board of Trustees from the governments without the membership of government officials. No board would undertake any other projects, unless some extremely outlandish idea was presented. This creates a good check, a counterbalance, to the inherent power and influence of government.

One of the key ideas presented in the ethics trainings I have to go through (because I serve on local government-appointed boards) is that even the appearance of a conflict of interested is problematic. In the case of the Armenia Fund’s Board of Trustees, we have at a minimum the appearance of potential corruption. Why not eliminate that appearance since no substantive purpose is served by the presence of government officials? Leave in place the various organizations’ representatives and noted business leaders. Let them do their jobs.

If the presidents of our two Republics were to be named as “honorary co-chairs” or some other such title for the sake of conveying the importance of the Armenia Fund, I could see that. Otherwise, the petition (born of the event I mentioned above) requesting this change in the composition of the Armenia Fund’s Board of Trustees is something I plan to sign.

I hope you, too, will sign the petition when it is circulated.

Garen Yegparian

Garen Yegparian

Asbarez Columnist
Garen Yegparian is a fat, bald guy who has too much to say and do for his own good. So, you know he loves mouthing off weekly about anything he damn well pleases to write about that he can remotely tie in to things Armenian. He's got a checkered past: principal of an Armenian school, project manager on a housing development, ANC-WR Executive Director, AYF Field worker (again on the left coast), Operations Director for a telecom startup, and a City of LA employee most recently (in three different departments so far). Plus, he's got delusions of breaking into electoral politics, meanwhile participating in other aspects of it and making sure to stay in trouble. His is a weekly column that appears originally in Asbarez, but has been republished to the Armenian Weekly for many years.
Garen Yegparian

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11 Comments

  1. Are we naive enough to believe that if government officials are not on the board, the remaining members will no longer be subject to outside influence? Of course the All-Armenia Fund does good work but, it is public works work which should be done by the government with tax revenues. Since the oligarchs do not pay their fair share of taxes, diasporans are being asked to be patriotic and subsidize these projects. There is no doubt in my mind that the new road to Artsakh will lead to businesses and resorts owned by government officials. One could argue that those businesses and resorts will provide jobs but, I think we are being stupid and allowing ourselves to be fooled under the guise of patriotism. I contribute my time and resources to NGO’s that provide an immediate benefit to the people.

    • I’ve heard that Artsakh companies pay more taxes than they are required by law. But this is not the point.

      Let’s just put it in perspective:

      $2.56 Billion – the cost of building MD 200 road – still unfinished 14.052 mi (22.615 km) stretch of a partial second beltway around Washington DC area. It took this great democracy 6+ years of just construction at the rate of $182,180,473 per mile… And it’s a Toll road so you get a bill in the mail every time you drive it!

      I would rather have All-Armenia Fund “crooks” build the 72 mile lifeline strategic highway in Artsakh for $30 million or $416,667 per mile. At this rate they can have all the “appearances of conflict of interest” they want.

  2. The amount of money they are spending on the projects does not make a sense to me.They put 5.766.232 dollars on a school construction in Shushi where the population is only four thousand people.They spend for another school( Khachatur Abovyan) 2.136.380 dollars for reconstruction. Almost one million dollar for the cultural center, and total spending in the year of 2012 with the other projects is, 7.974.646.At the same year they pay only 301.612 for Gyumri.This is not acceptable,and it shows a big difference. Why they are not doing anything for Gyumri? Are they punishing them, or there are other reasons that we don’t know.By the way in 2013,they’ve spent 6.160.456 dollars again for Shushi, and nothing for Gyumri.Another big project is Martuni Regional Hospital, which you can see on Youtube,is just two story building for a small city, they paid 5.516.841 dollars.This numbers seem a little bit too high for that region.I have the whole list and almost all projects makes you wonder.I hope they are right and I am wrong, what can I say.

  3. At a recent town hall meeting in Gledale on the Armenia Fund , one of the ítems discussed that is disturbing , concerned the funds being deposited in the banks that distribute the funds. The point was that they are Gov´t run and have discretion over where funds are used, and these bankers are close friends of Pres. Serge Sarkissian . At the very least the funds are needed for humanitarian uses and diáspora should not contribute until Armena Fund replaces the Armenian and Karabakh Presidents and their representitives from the board .

  4. The government of Armenia and its Oligarchi have finished ripping off
    the poor people of Armenia,now they are starting to rip off the diaspora.Anyone contributing to the telethons are a bunch of suckers.
    You are only contributing to the Mafia government of Armenia.

  5. Excellent points. Unfortunately, some of our compatriots are falling into the regime’s con-scheme and send money to the government-controlled Fund, thinking that it somehow “helps the people of Armenia.” If we want change in Armenia, we all need to stop spending our hard-earned money to the regime-controlled Fund. It will accomplish two things: send a powerful message to Armenia’s regime, and cut the flow of money to the regime.

  6. {“…The organizers pointed out flaws in the work of the organization, mostly in its form, and saw corruption manifested through those flaws.”}

    do you have any _proof_ Mr. Yegparian ?
    what does “….saw corruption manifested through those flaws” mean exactly ?

    {“ There is no question that corruption is rampant in the Republic of Armenia”}

    Really ?

    I question your assertion that it is “rampant”: where is your proof ?
    Would you like me to present proof about corruption in the City of Burbank ?
    How about City of Glendale ?
    How about City of Bell ?
    Police Chief Randy Adams, formerly of Glendale: ring a Bell ?
    No corruption in these United States of America ?
    How did the 2008 financial crash happen ?
    What happened to all those trillions of taxpayer funds that were given to Banks to make them whole again, after all those trillions in wealth simply “disappeared”. Where exactly did they disappear to ?
    How does one “disappear” trillions of dollars ?
    How many bankers went to jail for losing all that money writing fake loans ?
    “Rampant” corruption in RoA ? Give me a break.
    Corruption is institutionalized and legalized right here in the US.

    As to the 1st 4 comments by the 4 Armenian posters above:

    10s of thousands of Armenians worldwide donated.
    You don’t want to donate: don’t.
    Nobody is forced to donate.
    And nobody cares if you do not donate. All handful of you.
    But don’t waste your valuable time throwing mud at those of us who do.
    Look in the mirror: the “bunch of suckers” and those “being stupid” are staring right back at you.

    There are a handful malcontents wallowing in their own misery, trapped in their own fantasy world of make-believe conspiracies.
    10s of thousands of Armenians worldwide donated: suuuure, they are all “suckers” and “stupid”, and you are the only smart cookies in the jar.

    Rest of us are contributing and watching our brothers and sisters in RoA and NKR improve their lives year-in year-out.
    People who think like you will be left behind, in the dustbin of history, forever trapped in your miserable negativity.

    And the proof that those who think like you are on the losing side of Armenian history is this:
    Despite the incessant negativity from your side and incessant proselytizing by the likes of Ara Manoogian not to donate, a record amount was donated this year:$22.6 Million. Nice.
    And a record amount was donated in Western USA region and Los Angeles county: the primary target audience of Mr. Manoogian negative campaign. A campaign that failed miserably. Again.

    Take a look at pictures of Stepanakert 20 years ago and compare to today.
    Take a look at pictures of Yerevan 20 years ago when people were cutting street trees for wood to heat and cook and compare to today.
    Armenians who think like you will be left behind, in the dustbin of Armenian history, forever trapped in your miserable negativity.

    God Bless RoA.
    God Bless NKR.
    God Bless ArmeniaFund.
    God Bless Hayastan.
    God Bless the GREAT Armenian People.

    • [“How many bankers went to jail for losing all that money writing fake loans”]

      How many corrupt officials in Armenia went to jail for stealing from the people? That is the difference, buddy boy, between a democracy and the criminal regime that you, as one of their lackeys, support. In a democracy, thugs go to jail. In a corrupt state such as Armenia, they keep raping the country for their own benefit. And we patriotic Armenians know this and keep delivering the nice slaps on the faces of the “republic” and its lackeys year after year. Record number of donations? $3 million from 1 million Armenian-Americans translates to an average of $3 per person. Indeed a record slap on the regime’s face. Meanwhile, Armenian-Americans have turned their jewel city of Glendale into a thriving city having a budget of over $700 million. That is the kind of prosperity that we want to bring to Armenia. But first we need to help the Armenian people establish democracy and regain its ownership over their country, which we will do soon enough despite the efforts of a few lackeys such as you, buddy boy. It’s only a matter of time.

      Indeed, God bless the great Armenian people.
      God bless the work of patriots to turn Armenia into a strong democracy.

  7. Hey Vahagn, that statement of yours in regard to,”in a democracy, thugs go to jail”, is extremely absurd just like all of your other absurd statements. For your information, there are actually many thugs who live in countries claiming to be democracies, such as the one you live in, but yet, many of these thugs happen to not be in prison. As a matter of fact, many of the politicians within the country you live in, happen to be crooked thugs. You keep singing about democracy, but yet, you have no knowledge about what true democracy is. Would you like for me to educate you on this subject? Just let me know. By the way, Vahagn, exactly what kind of prosperity do you plan to bring to the people of Armenia? Don’t you remember that you’re extremely against any kind of assistance that the diaspora provides to the people of Armenia? This again comes to show what kind of a huge hypocrite you really are.

    • Hey, Yerevanian, your statement that “many politicians in the US are crooked thugs” is utterly absurd, just as your entire thinking. Do you have proof that many are thugs? Have you counted? Do you have any sources, or as usual no? Yes, not every thug in the U.S. goes to jail. But many do. In Armenia, if you are a powerful official or an oligarch, chances are virtually zero that you will go to jail. Armenians would dream to live under the U.S. version of thugs instead of Armenia’s version. By the way, Yerevanian, if you can’t understand what I am saying, I will give you suggestions how to educate yourself. Just let me know.

      Armenia can be prosperous only if it becomes a democracy. That is why we want Armenia to be democratic, so it will be prosperous, instead of the pathetic “republic” that it is.

  8. Hey Vahagn, you need to stop being so ignorant. Try reading books. Try following the news. Try reading newspaper articles. If you’re actually capable of doing all these things, then you will find out that there really are many crooked politicians, right here in the United States. However, there are also a good number of politicians here in the United States, who aren’t crooked. The point of all this, is that you’re extremely wrong when you try to classify the United States, as being a totally law abiding society.

    Hey Vahagn, by saying that Armenia can only be prosperous by becoming a democracy, again demonstrates your extreme lack of knowledge on the subject of democracy. Take a look at Turkey, and Azerbaijan. These two countries represent the exact opposite of democracy, but yet, they’re both prosperous. Take a look at Saudi Arabia. It’s the exact opposite of a democracy, but yet, it’s prosperous. Even the prosperous United States, which has democracy to a certain extent, is still not the definition of a true democracy.

    Hey Vahagn, you seem fascinated by where I get my information. Well, I’ve spent a great deal of my life reading books, and doing research on topics that interest me. That’s obviously something you’re not capable of doing. Anyway, if you find anything on your Wikipedia that you would like to discuss with me, feel free to come back anytime, so I can properly educate you on the matter.

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