HEAD OF HELSINKI COMMITTEE ARMENIA OPPOSES DESTRUCTION OF MOSCOW CINEMA OPEN-AIR HALL FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CHURCH

ArmInfo
2010-03-22 17:45:00

ArmInfo. Head of the Helsinki Committee Armenia has come out
against destruction of the Moscow Cinema Open-Air Hall in Yerevan
for construction of a church similar to Surb Poghos- Petros Church
destroyed in the Soviet period of time. Earlier on Feb 25 the
Government adopted a decision to provide the given territory to the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin for construction of the above church.

"It is just a shame to build a church in the place of another facility
hereby repeating the mistake of the Soviet past," he said at Friday
Debate Club on Monday. He sharply criticized the decision that removed
the Open Hall from the list of the protected state monuments. "I am
surprised. Instead of filling the list, they remove objects from it.

That list is a naught," Ishkhanyan said. He condemned also the
viewpoint of the Armenian Apostolic Church demanding the given. "This
means that communists may demand the building of the National Assembly
of Armenia. I call on everyone to sign the petition against destruction
of the Cinema Moscow Open Air Hall," he said.

The decision to destroy the hall has received wide public response.

Over 60 public figures have urged Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan to
cancel the Government’s decision. Hayas organization from Australia
is collecting signatures in support of the hall. Over 5,000 people
have already stood up for the facility. President of the Union of
Architects of Armenia Mkrtich Minassyan says that the Government did
not consult with experts when adopting the decision.