Conduct of Armenian ex-minister of nature protection considered unethical

Former minister of nature protection, current governor of Armenia’s Kotayk province Aram Harutyunyan violated Article 28 part 3 point 5 of the Law on Civil Service as he did not show respect for the persons he communicated with in the discharge of his duties. The commission for ethics of high-ranking officials came to such a conclusion.

The commission said that the ex-minister’s words contained elements of insult and a negative opinion about the conduct and personality of an individual and disregard for them, which can degrade the individual.

“The use of such statements by high-ranking officials when they communicate with representatives of a social organization does not demonstrate respect for citizens. The commission believes that such expressions are unbecoming to status of a high-ranking official because they do not contribute to the formation of ideas about his good manners, which is a prerequisite for building trust towards public authority,” the commission said in its findings which were filed to the president and the prime minister.

At the March 25 international conference in Yerevan, a group of environmental activists offered a glass of turbid water to the minister of nature protection. They took the water from the Geghi River in Syunik province to show that it is polluted by substances from Hankasar mine’s tailing dump. When an activist reminded those present about the words of a former employee of Nature Protection Ministry that the ministry is a ‘cemetery’, the furious Aram Harutyunyan replied: “Know when to stop, you brat! I will tear off your ears and put them in your hand”.