According to Hayk Demoyan, it does not worth erecting the statue, which even at the time of erecting and removing people should die. Despite of contradictory opinions about Anastas Mikoyan’s armenophile or anti-Armenian activities, the Yerevan City Council has already made a decision to erect the statue. The Director of Genocide Museum, RPA member for the Yerevan City Council, Hayk Demoyan, voted against this decision, addressing a question to the Council members, “Do you know that this person has been involved in many and various crimes, and it will have its consequences.” Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Kamo Areyan, being in favor of placing the statue, in the conversation with the journalists, told that Hayk Demoyan’s opinion is just his personal views. In the conversation with Aravot.am Hayk Demoyan gave such an assessment, “I was just terrified at the bases of the evidence-base. The people who are in favor of or at least take a neutral position, by the principle of “either-or”, “and-and”, what arguments and counter-argument they bring. It terrifies me as an Armenian individual man and as a genocide museum director. What are we talking about when it comes to undeniable facts in the archive? The historians, and I don’t know who else has, there is an irrefutable evidence, which means that it was not said by someone, or heard, but based on archival documents. But, with all of these, the principle of “and-and” is adopted, or the principle of good-and-bad is opposed. It terrifies me, because numerous and various crimes are committed with such approach, or forgiven, or serve as a basis for subsequent crimes. In the second episode, I am terrified at this evidence-base and approach, which no more and less is the same model of Turkish denial. You may introduce thousands of documents, hundreds of thousands of documents, they will say, “Anyway, they are not evidence-based, they need to pass an investigation, a commission of historians should be established, hence, we cannot say that this is a true argument, based on which we can recognize or condemn the Genocide”. These two reasons terrify me, and I do not find any other word to qualify the phenomenon”. Kamo Areyan had also said that the Council had not received any document that gives evidence about Mikoyan’s anti-Armenian activities. To our question of why you have not submitted the arguments available with you to the Council, Hayk Demoyan responded, “Until the next session, I am getting ready to submit and justify what we are talking about in a form of a speech. It is my right, and I will be using my right. I cannot make a step back, because it is not only the statue to Mikoyan here, it is not the issue of erecting the state or not. Many people do not want to understand. This is one of manifestations of distorted and segmented, tormented perceptions of perceiving the memory of history and the whole value system.” When “Barev Yerevan” faction of the Yerevan City Hall had suggested announcing the Council’s decision on installation of the statue revoked over the “Liberty” r/s, Taron Margaryan closed the subject by claiming, “There are no grounds to revoke this decision, and the subject is closed.” To our question of whether, in fact, he is going to reopen the subject at the next council session, Hayk Demoyan responded, “No, the subject is not closed, at least, for me. I am not going to stay in the passive position of expressing an opinion. I as a citizen and as a professional and as a person with a family history, which cannot but respect his family history and experience, I’ll try to take this fight to a logical culmination. It is at least visible to me. It is the point that such statue should not be erected in Yerevan. I have no problems with the Mikoyan family. We cannot bring a symbol back to Armenia, which symbolizes evil, symbolizes mass murders, and symbolizes an atmosphere of fear. God forbid, we are not talking here about editing or denying the Soviet past. We all came from there. We also have a positive memory. We are not conducting an ant-Soviet campaign but we deny the worst from our memory, which we are trying to bring back.” To our question of whether there is a fear that the statue will be broke if however it is erected, Hayk Demoyan responded, “The matter that the statue will not be erected, I’m more than confident. But let’s remember that during dismantling of the statues of this era that were placed in the time, even people are dying during their removal. Let’s remembering dismantling of Stalin’s statue. At that time the soldiers dismantled, 4 soldiers were killed. Then, it does not worth erecting the statue, which even at the time of installing and removing people should die.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
