President of the Republic and President of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All- Armenian Fund Armen Sarkissian applied to the members of the Board of Trustees of the Fund with an official letter.
During the severe days of war, at the request of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and upon the decision of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, a significant portion (52,703,113,395 AMD) of the funds, raised by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, was transferred to the Government’s separate treasury account as a donation to finance infrastructure, social and health care expenditures.
From the beginning, President Armen Sarkissian had an opinion and holds that viewpoint until now that the money transferred to the Government should have been converted into a debt through a loan. However, under the current hard conditions, the majority of the members of the Fund’s Board of Trustees adopted another resolution.
Taking into consideration the growing public interest in this issue, on November 26, President Sarkissian wrote a letter to the Director of the Fund Haykak Arshamyan, with a proposal of providing certain clarifications. “As the President of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, I am deeply concerned that due to the transfer of the amount, donated to the Fund by our compatriots and friends, to the Government, definite distrust and dissatisfaction arose regarding the Fund’s activities. Our compatriots have expressed their concern in the media as well. This fact has also become a source of speculation; the donators have doubts that their trust has been abused. As a result of all this, the reputation of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, as well as the raising and donating funds for the future programs may be endangered.”
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The President of the Republic has emphasized that the current situation requires taking urgent steps before the trust in the Government and the Fund has been finally lost. Besides, there is a risk of discrediting the idea of All-Armenian unity in general, an idea that has so far ensured the Fund’s activities.
Consequently, according to the President, the Government must submit a clear, detailed, and transparent report on the expenditures made with the transferred sums of the Fund, and this must be done in the most public way.
At the same time, an international audit should urgently be conducted, and the public, especially our compatriots in the Diaspora, as the main and loyal donors of the Fund, should be provided with comprehensive information on the funds raised by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and their targeted management.
In the event of a negative audit conclusion or if the trustees or donators are not satisfied with the audit results, the amount of 52,703,113,395 AMD, transferred to the Government by donation, should be converted into a debt through a loan, provided that it is further fully returned to the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.
“Realizing the current difficult situation in our country, at the same time, I consider it unacceptable to add the crisis of confidence around the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to the diverse crises.
The return of the funds, transferred by the Government to the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, can significantly change the situation and become a guarantee of restoring the confidence in the Fund. The return of the sum to the Fund’s budget will give the Board of Trustees an opportunity to take into account the viewpoints and proposals of the trustees and the donators, to determine the directions of the expenses, and if necessary to cooperate with the leadership of Artsakh, and the Government of the Republic of Armenia.” – noted President Sarkissian, expecting the viewpoints on the issue by the members of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.
The Fund must be an absolutely apolitical structure, devoid of even the slightest doubts.
The Office to the President of the Republic of Armenia