Special for the Armenian Weekly
The reckless privatization of public property in Armenia’s capital has been a deeply troubling phenomenon ever since Armenia opted for independence. Many buildings of historic significance—some intimately tied to the history of the First Republic—were badly tampered with or simply disappeared from the face of the earth to make room for new construction. This willful tearing down of Armenia’s living history is a cultural catastrophe the new government must immediately deal with, taking decisive new measures before Yerevan’s identity is permanently compromised. First and foremost is the critical situation of Aram Manoukian’s House on the very street bearing the name of our great national hero and the Founding Father of Armenia’s Independence.
Many years ago, this national shrine, along with the adjacent city block, was hastily privatized by the then-government of Armenia and was allowed to sit there in total oblivion waiting for the “Hin Yerevan” city mall to be conceptualized and take shape. While the original intent seemed to be to restore the building and to turn it into a museum as part of the architectural concept of the future “Hin Yerevan” shopping center, with its occupants gone, the building incurred substantial decay over the years—to the point that it now exists only in the form of a skeleton at No. 9 Aram Street, recognizable only by the barely legible commemorative plaque on its outside wall, placed there decades ago not by the present but the pre-independence authorities of the country.
The fact of the matter is that this unique national landmark is now the property of the Sermakesh group, led by Vartan Sermakesh, a Swiss-Armenian investor known for his worldwide ventures and his close association with highly placed commercial interests in Armenia.
In an earlier article last year, I called upon Mr. Sermakesh to step forward and provide public assurances that he would take immediate measures to safeguard this building, preventing further damage to its structure and, indeed, to commit to have this building fully revived as the Aram Manoukian Museum, consistent with the proposals put forward in the past. The idea being that the building would, in the end, get turned over to the public jurisdiction while still remaining a part of Hin Yerevan’s design. Needless to say, no such assurances were heard from Mr. Sermakesh, or the authorities for that matter, despite the public outcry on this issue.
Instead, there has been a recent municipal notice that further demolitions of old structures are on the way in the vicinity of such public arteries as Pushkin, Abovyan, and Aram, all being short steps away from the Republic Square. Two important architectural landmarks were already torn down—one on Aram and one on Amiryan streets—in the course of the last month, with reliably informed sources insisting that more such cases are due shortly.
To contend that these moves are in the spirit of urban renewal and that the modernization of the nation’s capital is really the priority pursued by the authorities (and real estate developers) is simply an absurdity. Modernizing at the expense of the city’s historic identity and its collective memory is tantamount to stealing its soul. Nothing justifies the deliberate negligence, for the last 25 years, toward Aram Manoukian’s House. To my knowledge, there has only been one house-museum created during the life of the present republic. It is the one in the name of Karen Demirchyan, the former speaker of the National Assembly, who also was the Armenian Communist Party chief during the Soviet years. No others!
‘Modernizing at the expense of the city’s historic identity and its collective memory is tantamount to stealing its soul. Nothing justifies the deliberate negligence, for the last 25 years, toward Aram Manoukian’s House. … What is at issue here is the historic responsibility of the present republic of finally identifying itself with the proud vision of sovereign nationhood that Aram Manoukian’s symbolized all his life.’
Bluntly stated, this is an affront to our collective dignity. Do we need to remind people as to who Aram Manoukian was? Do we need to educate people as to what Aram represents for the Armenian nation? Are you so totally disconnected of your own roots and history and destiny that you are unable to understand your very own core priorities in nation building?
What is at issue here is the historic responsibility of the present republic of finally identifying itself with the proud vision of sovereign nationhood that Aram Manoukian symbolized all his life. What is at issue here is our responsibility to pass down to all future generations Aram’s liberating ideas, his monumental work, and his legacy of devotion to Armenia’s independence.
This is our final call to you. The rescuing of Aram’s House must start NOW. Work on its restoration must begin this spring. The restoration of this building must be accomplished using the highest architectural standards. Its conversion to a museum must be pursued with the best state-of-the-art interactive technologies known to modern archival construction. This house is the people’s house. We need to make sure that it is always there for the people to visit and that it shines as the architectural jewel of Armenia’s capital. We also need to make sure that it is ready to open its doors to the public in time for the Centennial of the First Republic in 2018.
Once recuperated, this house shall become a pole of attraction for our youth everywhere. Its presence, conveyed through rich interactive resources, shall be a source of inspiration for the young and the old. This house shall epitomize our nation’s heroic rebirth exemplified by the deeds of this fiery ARF revolutionary who successfully led the Defense of Van in 1915 and carried the torch of Armenia’s independence in 1918 through the battles of Sardarapat, Bash Abaran, and Karakilissa. In the place of the present skeleton we shall see the rise of the edifice of renewal celebrating our nation’s undying vision for a Free, United, and Independent Armenia.
Garo Armenian
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This is like if the U.S. tore down the White House and built a shopping mall in its place.
Article is spot on but maybe ARF should discuss all this with its new coalition “partners”… or perhaps it should have thought twice before partnering with such a corrupt entity… so sad on so many levels…
Actually, I know little about Aram Manougian and the history of the First Republic of Armenia.
Could the Weekly do a series on it somehow?
KNOW. It upsets me and surely others as well when your paper writes this information like you didn’t about it at all and it is very disappointing now that you have found out. ARF (Tashnagstoutioun) have been in the country for the past twenty years and how come nothing has been done to preserve this unique and Historical building. And not only preserve it but to re-build to its previous historical structure so it can be educational as well for the young and people like Armen in the above comment. Your paper could have approached one wealthy person to take on to re-build this house for its glory day. Its should be a privilege to do this. How come all of you were silent? If you ask me and my opinion I want to tell you that this is SHAMEFUL. Now that ARF made a deal with the present Government it should not be difficult to reclaim the building and re-store to its previous Beauty. Otherwise don’t mentioned again.
The Government should not be aloud to sell historic properties . shame on you .any one any person that sells Historic sites ,Will sell ARMENIA TO !!!