VICTOR HAMBARTSUMYAN, CHARLES AZNAVOUR, VARAZDAT MKRTCHYAN: WHO’S NEXT?

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Oct 21 2009
Armenia

At its sitting today the Municipal Council of Yerevan, besides others,
discussed the issues of conferring the honorary title of freeman of
Yerevan on Head of the Nork-Marsh community Varazdat Lazarian. The
Council held a stormy debate.

"No one can say the opposite. During their 11-year-long activities the
prefects have made a great contribution. I think it is in conformity
with moral principles to have a freeman of Yerevan as head of
community," said Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan.

Armen Hakobyan of the Prosperous Party of Armenia was the only person
to oppose the Mayor’s initiative. Naming the outstanding figures that
were made freeman of Yerevan (Victor Hambartsumyan, Charles Aznavour,
Yuri Luzhkov and Boris Yeltsin), he called on the participants to
listen to the "voice of conscience" instead of "giving political
preferences." "Today we have to appreciate or depreciate the honorary
title of freeman of Yerevan," he said.

In response, Mayor Beglaryan said that most of the persons mentioned
by Hakobyan were awarded the title for political reasons. "Now I want
to confer this title on the persons who really contribute to the
development of Yerevan. Next time this title will be warded to the
builder, driver, tree planter and scientist who have really played
an important role in Yerevan’s life," Beglaryan said.

Varazdat Lazarian has been head of the Nork-Marsh community since
1999.