{"id":8282,"date":"2017-06-15T01:16:32","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T01:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/media-battle-v-corruption-well-come-home\/"},"modified":"2017-06-15T01:16:32","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T01:16:32","slug":"media-battle-v-corruption-well-come-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/critique\/2017\/06\/15\/8282\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Battle v. Corruption: \u201cWell Come Home\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mediamart<\/em> (Media Battle) is a digital game developed by the Media Initiatives Center [also responsible for this site] for journalism enthusiasts. Independent Armenia\u2019s media already has more than a quarter of a century of history, but media coverage of corruption (the fight against corruption) is more like a game at least in terms of effectiveness. <\/p>\n

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4. \u201cWell come home\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to statistical data, compared to April of last year, remittances from abroad to Armenia increased by around US$5 million (4.6%). It\u2019s good, of course. However. Remittances from Armenia to abroad grew\u2026 by US$20 million (31%).<\/p>\n

As it clearly appears from the infograph on b4b.am, this is the trend of the first four months.<\/p>\n

Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan explained the cash outflow<\/a> as follows: these monies \u201cArmenian companies transferred as advance payment to foreign investors to acquire main resources\u201d within the framework of investment projects. <\/p>\n

That is, the investments are local Armenian but there\u2019s no interest by diaspora Armenian or foreign businessmen. What\u2019s the problem? the new prime minister exhorted, issued calls, held meetings. If we judge from media coverage of the past several decades, the main obstacle is corruption.<\/p>\n

The most typical example of the relationship between the diaspora Armenian investor and Armenia\u2019s administration is the case of Le Caf\u00e9 du Paris. The store and caf\u00e9 on Abovyan St. in Yerevan with its patio had become one of Yerevan residents\u2019 favorite venues, when in 2011, its owner Val\u00e9rie Ashkhen Gortzounian announced she\u2019s leaving Armenia. The reason was the municipal authorities\u2019 decision to remove the outdoor patio. <\/p>\n

In terms of formality, everything was right: over the years, different types of caf\u00e9s and stores had mushroomed on Abovyan St., but the modest, almost Parisian width the caf\u00e9 occupied didn\u2019t interfere with pedestrian traffic.<\/p>\n

The newspapers and online media defended the businesswoman. A Facebook group was created in defense of Le Caf\u00e9 du Paris that held a demonstration near the caf\u00e9. \u201cWas Le Caf\u00e9 du Paris that had found its special place on Abovyan Street the structure from which it was necessary to begin the process of dismantling temporary buildings?\u201d CivilNet asked Yerevan\u2019s chief designer in a piece titled \u201cLe Caf\u00e9 du Paris was to blame<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalists managed to learn about then prime minister Tigran Sargsyan\u2019s attitude toward Le Caf\u00e9 du Paris. His answer is akin to a quote taken from any political science textbook:<\/p>\n