The decision to erect a monument commemorating the heroes of the “Nemesis” operation in Yerevan was made by the Local Self-Government Body, we are talking about the Yerevan Municipality. RA NA Speaker Alen Simonyan said this during a press conference held in Ankara. Simonyan also expressed regret that the installation of the monument received such a reaction in Turkey.
“The decision was made in the local self-government body, and I do not want the installation of the statue here to be perceived as a manifestation of Armenia’s state foreign policy or as an unneighborly step. State foreign policy in Armenia is carried out by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, all of you have witnessed the decisions made at this level in recent months,” Simonyan emphasized.
During his last interview, Prime Minister Pashinyan, while pleasing Turkey, noted that the Government did not make the decision to install the “Nemesis” monument and the implementation of that decision was also a mistake.
After all, on whose initiative was that statue installed? How did it happen that the first figures of the country were against it, but the Yerevan Municipality or the Council of Elders made such a decision? “Hraparak” talked to Tehmina Vardanyan, a member of the Yerevan Council of Elders. According to Vardanyan, the initiative is quite old, it was brought to life by the family members and descendants of the Nemesis avengers.
“A big team has joined them. I was one of the first fighters for the Nemesis statue in the city hall. The MFA initially rejected the idea about three years ago. Now the initiative was approved because the Foreign Ministry gave its consent. This is a very long and old initiative and yes, the current authorities have nothing to do with this project. I met Armen Gevorgyan, whose grandfather is one of Nemesis’ avengers. I have talked with him many times, had discussions about the installation of the statue. Kamo Areyan and Davit Gevorgyan were fighting for the project in the city hall,” says Tehmina Vardanyan.
According to him, it is welcome that the installation of the Nemesis statue has finally come to life and that Armenia has shown a certain determination. “It was surprising to me that both the current and the city authorities had a certain will to install the statue,” he said.
Hayk Gevorgyan