Minister for Labor and Social Affairs Artyom Asatryan disclaimed the reports that orphanages "rent" kids to beggars.
Talking to reporters on May 29, the minister said the parliamentarians who raise such issues must submit facts, if they have any, to the law enforcement. The minister said he will discuss the issue with Naira Zohrabyan, the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party faction in the parliament, who raised the issue earlier.
The minister said he regularly meets with the leaderships of orphanages and is sure that the reports are groundless. "If there are any facts, I will find and punish all those guilty, because such crime cannot be left unpunished," he said.
As to the Ombudsman's report saying that the kids at orphanages often suffer humiliation and violence, the minister said: "Even in families there are such problems. One should not take the given issue from the viewpoint of the kids' rights only," he said. Asatryan said the ministry employees regularly visit orphanages and boarding schools and control over the situation.
Earlier, Naira Zohrabyan, the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party Faction in the Parliament of Armenia, said some orphanages in Armenia rent kids to beggars. Zohrabyan said she personally communicated with some kids of beggars who said that they are from orphanages and the adult beggars with them are not their parents. "We will tackle this issue immediately," Zohrabyan said.
She addressed Ombudsman of Armenia Karen Andreasyan, who pledged to look into the problem. Vahan Babayan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, in turn, informed the human rights defender that some beggars sedate babies and use them to get more money from passers-by.
"If you have facts, the Police must tackle this problem, because it is a crime, first and foremost," Andreasyan said. The human rights defender urged citizens to report to the Police on such cases or contact him through the Hot Line number 116.