The conversation between www.aravot.am and Gagik Gyurjyan, the head of the ICOMOS-Armenia NGO, was on the problems with the restoration of Armenian monuments in Turkey. We inquired of Mr. Gyurjyan whether the Armenian side had taken necessary steps to supervise the correct restoration of monuments in Turkey. Mr. Gyurjyan replied, “Commenting on correctness and incorrectness is the job of the specialists. However, unfortunately, people who don’t have anything to do with this problem comment on it nowadays. Therefore, it is not the task of the Armenian side, but the task of the international expert group, which will ensure supervision and will be credible and it will be harder to make mistakes. It is not polite to doubt the abilities of the international experts.”
Some Armenian specialists have doubts about the impartiality of UNESCO, explaining that it is financed by Turkey. Ani presented by Turkey is included in the preliminary list of UNESCO. We inquired of G. Gyurjyan whether there were concerns that the preservation of Ani was under threat. He replied, “Ani has gone beyond national or local boundaries and has global significance. Therefore, there are no such concerns. UNESCO is financed by different countries – one country finances more, another country less, but it doesn’t mean that UNESCO should be biased. Our goal today is that Armenian monuments in Turkey are not destroyed, restored correctly and presented correctly.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
