Kotayk governor apologizes to environmental activists

Ex-minister of nature protection, current governor of Armenia’s Kotayk province Aram Harutyunyan apologized to environmental activists for the incident that occurred during the international conference “Responsible Mining in Armenia: Opportunities and Challenges” held in Yerevan, according to the press service of Kotayk regional administration.

“Dear environmentalists.

I regret the argument between you and me at the international conference “Responsible Mining in Armenia”.
Unfortunately, the lack of experience and the culture of dialog building and civilized debate resulted in the situation, following which unfounded accusations and harsh responses were voiced.

I think the sides should apologize to each other, which I do now, saying once again that I had no intention of insulting anyone, but I just tried to restrain manifestations of some persons’ improper conduct.

I welcome the decision and opinion of the Commission for Ethics of High-Ranking Officials, taking into the fact that a standard concerning public conduct of political figures, government members and officials during their communication with citizens has been set at last.

I think the decision is also important because it stresses the need to protect high-ranking officials’ privacy right. This dictates some rules of behavior to members of the public in their communication with civil servants and officials,” the minister said in his statement.

We would remind that the Commission for Ethics of High-Ranking Officials came to the conclusion that the ex-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 said that the ex-minister’s words contained elements of insult and a negative opinion about the conduct and personality of an individual and a disregard for them, which can degrade the individual.

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 to the effect 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”.