Civil Society of Armenia is Growing”: USA Ambassador (video)

USA Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern in his 26th video blog statement talked on civil activeness of Trchkan waterfall initiative, active involvement on Yerevan’s cover market, Mashtots park and protest actions on Harsnaqar Restaurant incident.
He particularly said, “Civic engagement is vital to a healthy democracy. Civil society and NGOs do important work in many fields. According to a recent USAID assessment, civil society in Armenia is the second strongest anywhere among the republics of former USSR. However, there is more to be done. One obstacles for Armenia’s civil society is legal restriction on these organizations charging a fee for their services which would make them more self-sustaining. In the U.S. the non-governmental organizations are able to charge a fee for their services on non-profit making basis.”
Civil society is getting stronger and more effective in Armenia, US Ambassador said.
“Irrespective of the problems which need solution, the civil society of Armenia has many things to be proud of. We welcome courageous Armenians who are working every day to bring positive change here. And we appear as a partner wherever it’s possible, to make Armenia more powerful, more prosperous and more democratic”, concluded the US Ambassador.