If the Decision to Save Lives Had Not Been Made, Today's Absurd Accusation Would Not Exist: Thorosyan on Arrests

Former Minister of Health and current MP of the Civil Contract party, Arsen Torosyan, has spoken out following the recent arrest of his former deputy Gevorg Simonian. The criminal proceedings relate to allegations of embezzlement during COVID-19 response measures.

Arsen Torosyan stated, “No good deed goes unpunished, or why does the state apparatus not function well... The events surrounding the criminal cases initiated concerning the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, including arrests and detentions, send a clear message to the entire state apparatus: do not show initiative in resolving various issues, do not make decisions, engage in endless discussions, and always seek permission from superiors because tomorrow you may be unjustly accused of ‘having the audacity to make a decision.’ Many of our compatriots have faced this issue, often hearing the cursed phrase that ‘the superior must decide the solution to this issue’ because they fear accountability.”

“During the pandemic, there was a worldwide shortage of hospital beds, and I am sure everyone remembers the images from various developed and wealthy countries where COVID patients received ‘treatment’ in hospital corridors and outdoors under the open sky. To prevent a similar situation here, the government decided we would do everything possible to ensure the maximum number of available hospital beds. At the peak of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health decided to create teams that would visit healthcare facilities to discharge light patients almost forcibly to free up beds for more severely ill patients. We were also criticized for this, as many patients did not want to be discharged and wanted to recover ‘until the end’ in hospitals.”

“I am confident that almost no other country had such a mechanism, and we could have not taken such steps as well. Nobody could have later blamed us for not doing something like this. Certainly, we would have had more severe cases and, unfortunately, more deaths. These teams were tasked with using their medical knowledge to ensure as many free beds as possible, which they did appropriately.”

“Now, however, it seems that the doctors of that team and one of the deputies coordinating COVID treatment are being unfoundedly accused of failing to perform financial oversight properly. Essentially, if the aforementioned decision to save more lives had not been made, today’s absurd accusation would not exist. I would not be surprised if tomorrow we are accused of transporting oxygen stations by plane from China or importing liquid oxygen from Russia and Georgia during COVID, given that the pandemic is over and the accusers no longer need pure oxygen.”

“To be continued...”