Disgrace, Disrespect: Officials outraged over vandalism of two
statues; deputy minister calls for extreme punishment

Arts and CultureArts and Culture | 28.09.12 | 15:25

Photo: Daron Titizyan/Civilnet.am

By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Thursday night another one of the statues placed on a bench in Charles
Aznavour Square was vandalized. This time popular actor Mher Lazarian
(1930-93) statue’s arm and hand and his barrel (the statue portrays a
fragment from one of his best movies) became victims, following last
week when prominent Armenian poet Yeghishe Charent’s (1897-1937)
statue was targeted (his thumb was broken off).

The municipality has placed the statues of prominent writers and
popular actors on benches as part of a project entitled `Our geniuses
next to us in Yerevan’. The two statues were placed only a week ago
and were the first in what is planned as nine installations.

Sculpture Suren Melkonyan does not see `ill intention’, but says that
`it is regrettable that our society is still that savage’.

The statues are ceramic, and while weather-resistant, are not meant
for sitting on them or be hit by solid objects.

The municipality made a decision last week to place surveillance
cameras (CCTV) by the statues, not only to prevent vandalism and
`disrespect’, as determined by municipality. Officials were upset over
a video circulated on the web where three young people are hitting
Charents statue in the head and putting sunglasses on him.
Meanwhile, police press service told ArmeniaNow that they have data
and photos to help identify the vandals.

Deputy justice minister Ruben Melikyan wrote on his Facebook page that
the vandals should be criminally prosecuted for deliberate violation
of public order accompanied by explicit disrespect and damage of
property. The law article provides for 200,000-500,000 drams’ in fines
($500-$1,200), or up to five years of imprisonment.

`I hope that person or persons get the maximum sentence of five years
and spend each 24 hours of all of the 1,826 days enjoying the splendor
and misery of our penitentiaries,’ wrote the outraged deputy minister
(under whose system even convicted pedophiles receive lesser
sentences).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress