Today, as it was envisaged, the “Reducing Corruption Risks in the Healthcare Sector through Strengthening Sector CSOs and Promoting Public Control” (hereinafter referred to as the Project) project, which was implemented with the financial support of the US Embassy in Armenia (U.S. Embassy Yerevan), ended.
I would like to thank the US Embassy for its support, as our work team was able to record the following results:
• Conduct seminars for representatives of various NGOs,
• Analyze the laws and decisions governing the healthcare sector of our country, as well as analyze international experience, which was published in the form of a separate manual,
• The RA National Assembly adopted 9 amendments of the package consisted of 21 legislative amendments developed by our working team,
• Within the framework of the project, a healthcare information platform was created, which, as envisaged in the project, served the purpose of making the voice of specialists and non-governmental organizations audible.
The project was successful. One of the successful components is the creation of Medmedia.am information platform. It has become so popular in the first nine months of its existence that it has received the attention of such prestigious international magazines as “The Guardian” or “openDemocracy”. There are various and more large-scale grant projects in Armenia, but I don’t remember any of those projects being spread on the platforms I have mentioned. It is strange that in the above-mentioned serious platforms there are only a few sentences from my interview that are out of the context. It is also strange that the local “press” calls the interviews I have given to the above-mentioned magazines revelations, but I have kept the correspondence with “openDemocracy” and the interview with “The Guardian” has been recorded, hence, there is no “revelation” in my opinion, there is a manipulative “sensation” typical of globalists.
Referring to the article on Medmedia.am website on those platforms, I would like to mention the following points:
– It is dubious that the “openDemocracy” platform, explaining that they write an article on “Armenia’s response to COVID-19”, did not address the high rates of disease in Armenia, the Armenian government’s indifference to the epidemic, the public’s call to start and intensify the fight against coronavirus, the announcements of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Healthcare, however, the article places great importance on the website created within the framework of the Project, in which materials have been published for months, the content of which should have been a call for sobriety for the Minister of Healthcare and the Prime Minister. Given this fact, I can’t help thinking that the article posted on the “openDemocracy” platform has a clear direction and I do not exclude that it may be “ordered”.
– It is also dubious that being unaware of the provision of the Project that the website has a mission to make the voices of sectoral NGOs audible, they have tried to disseminate information that “defamed” the site’s activities, even without taking into account the fact that the content posted on the site may not match the opinion of the site’s editorial team. Moreover, the author of the mentioned articles is not an employee of the website, but is the chairman of the public healthcare organization and a doctor by profession.
Referring to the information about my personality, I would like to mention that I was introduced to the material prepared on the website of Coronavirus and
Medmedia.am, in an incomprehensible way, a great role was given to my personality, my views, my connections and the environment:
– I respect the traditional Armenian family and consider that the traditional Armenian family is the strength of our country. Probably, my conservative and Christian values have provoked “openDemocracy” and “The Guardian” reporters to present me as a homophobe. They have even tried to cite as evidence and give a political tone to the post on Facebook 6 years ago, which is out of the context. But in vain, as for me, sexual orientation cannot be considered an advantage.
– I have been tried to be attributed to the “right-wing extremist” political direction, but they are probably not aware that I am not a member of any political party. I do not want to dwell on the fact that an attempt has been made to involve my entourage or my friends in this ridiculous story, as unfounded information needs no comment.
– As for my activities in the “Covid-19 Fact-Finding Group”, it is exclusively an expert activity and has no political base or basis.
I am well aware of the causal link between all this, this is against my two-year critical activity and the “Covid-19 Fact-Finding Group’s” work, as the presented, and yet unrepresented but already accumulated facts, in my opinion, will be the factual grounds for criminal liability of the Minister of Healthcare (and not only). In our country, dissent has always been and will remain, and I will not allow globalists to affirm “liberal authoritarianism”. I can’t keep quiet.
It is a pity, but today the negative aspects of “liberal authoritarianism” affect not only my personality or the website created within the framework of the project, but also the constructive cooperation of the civil society in Armenia and the US Embassy in Armenia, as the pressure exerted by such international articles makes various NGOs think whether or not participate in grant projects announced by the US Embassy and implement projects if there are further defaming attempts at effective implementation of the project and severe intolerance of dissent is manifested.
Gevorg Grigoryan
