09
07, 2009

President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public Council

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Today, President Serzh Sargsyan met with the members of the Public Council.

In his opening remarks the President of Armenia particularly said, “This is our first meeting since after the Council has been fully formed. I cordially congratulate all 36 members and wish you productive work.

This is an exceptional institute, whose configuration and charter have been designed and formed out of state structures. The election of its members has also taken place in an unprecedented manner. And the outcome of this enterprise depends primarily on all 36 members of the Council. I have no intention of downgrading the role of the Presidential Staff and our state structures: What I mean is that the extent of our assistance will depend on your activities. We are ready to discuss any initiative, to listen to your opinion, and it will be, of course, a part of our work.

I am familiar with the Charter of the Public Council, I also know that your decisions are not mandatory for the state governing bodies, and will bear no direct influence on the policies. But we all also understand that this structure has been created to influence the policies. At first, it may sound as a contradiction, but it is clear for me that there is no contradiction at all. If the state governing bodies act based first of all on the power of law, your activities will be based on respect, authority and public trust. I am happy that the Public Council comprises individuals who posses all of these qualities. And I hope that this structure will acquire your personal qualities.

I would not wish for the Council to become a closed club, but rather a great venue for exchanging opinions, listening to new ideas, and adopting decisions. This is my vision of the Council’s work, and I would like to repeat that this is an important structure, and I didn’t pursue any other option.

I want your participation in the decision making to be significant. The President and the state are interested in your participation in important decision-making; by participating in decision-making you also participate in the implementation of those decisions and advocate them. In state structures we can obligate the state employees to comply through orders, laws, government decisions, but in this structure the role of the people who entered it and make decisions on voluntary basis is, certainly, different. I sincerely believe that this structure will deliver.

You see, from the moment the idea emerged, there were people who labeled the structure without even knowing what its charter would be like. I am confident that you and the mature part of our society realize very well why this whole process of discrediting was started. If we understand that simple thing, it means that we should be mindful of it in our work and implement ideas not to convince someone that their approaches were wrong, but to build a better state, to make our society a better one.”

The Chairman of the Public Council Vazgen Manoukian informed the President of Armenia on the formation of the Council’s commissions and other administrative issues. He said that through the commission formation process, a great number of people volunteered for help and as a result the commissions have engaged high-class professionals from different areas.

The Chairman of the Council expressed confidence that the structure would be able to discuss many issues of public concern and find avenues for their solution. He also informed that the Council has been already receiving many letters which are being sorted by the topics and analyzed to identify issues of common concern.

Vazgen Manoukian noted that all democratic states have similar public structures which bring significant participation to the resolution of social issues and play a reconciling role when interests of different social groups collide.

During the working discussion, the members of the Council raised a dozen questions pertaining to science and education, culture, environment protection, economy, Armenia’s presence in international information flows, and creation of the system of values for the younger generation. President Serzh Sargsyan suggested that in its future works the Council undertakes the development of concrete proposals for the resolution of these issues.

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