YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. The public discussion of projects of a new monument to be erected in Republic Square of Yerevan failed on November 25. A few representatives of NGOs, architects and journalists who had gathered for discussion did not understand why they were invited when the Chairman of the Architects' Union of Armenia, who was the initiator of the discussion, and other responsible officials were absent. It became known later that an urgent consultation was convened on the very issue the same day at the Mayor's Office. It is unknown what was being discussed there, nevertheless, in the specialists' words, none of about 23 works displayed at the Union's lobby deserved a special attention. Moreover, they consider that the competition announced by Yerevan Mayor's Office was organized by a wrong order and any decision made in a haste may break the link of the Square's complex and may not correspond to urban development norms. Those present first of all did not agree to the subject of the competition announced by Yerevan Mayor's Office, "The Collective Image of the Armenian People." In the words of architect Anahit Tarkhanian, Chairwoman of Our City NGO, she does not imagine how monuments to Argishti or crucified Christ, four stone crosses or some unintelligible arches, a glazed building of public importance, etc. can be placed on the pedestal of monument to Lenin. "Collective image is an indefinite idea: what does the collective image of Armenian people mean? The subject matter and not looking for "collective images" was to be rendered more concretely by the competition's demands," she said. The majority of specialists affirmed that there is no need to announce a competition hastily or to place some monument there. In their words, time is needed for this and when the time comes the idea will come to existence itself.

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