Illegal Bonuses are a Component of Systemic Corruption, Says Human Rights Defender Arsen Babayan

Human rights defender Arsen Babayan has made a statement on his Facebook page regarding the issue of a 174 million dram bonus awarded for just 17 days of work in the Armenian National Assembly in January. He specifically noted that people in the parliament have overcome poverty in their own minds.

“People in the National Assembly have overcome poverty in their own minds. For 17 days of work in January, they awarded themselves 174 million drams. Yes, everyone must independently overcome their poverty. For one person, that means signing a piece of paper as a self-awarded bonus, while for another, it involves making the one who signed that piece of paper actually work. Illegal bonuses are a component of systemic corruption,” he remarked.

As a reminder, Antifake.am reported that at the beginning of the year, bonuses were distributed in the National Assembly based on regulations issued by the Assembly President Ararat Mirzoyan on February 4, amounting to 100 and 30 percent of salaries.