Artists, Activists Protest Outside Chinese Embassy in Armenia in Defense of Ai Weiwei

A protest was organized earlier today outside the Chinese Embassy in Armenia in defense of world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei who was detained by Chinese police on April 3.

The artist perhaps best known for co-designing the 2008 Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium, is being charged for “economic crimes.” A number of international agencies, most notably Amnesty International, insist that the persecution is political and emblematic of China’s widening crackdown on dissent.

Participating in today’s demonstration in Yerevan were president of the Yerevan-based National Association of Art Critics (NAAC) Nazareth Karoyan, artists Karen Andreasyan, Artur Petrosyan and Taguhi Torosyan, as well as a handful of other concerned citizens.

Speaking to Epress.am, Karoyan said that the Chinese authorities by detaining Weiwei are actually imprisoning their spirit, and with an imprisoned spirit, China cannot continue its progress.

“When the authorities become this coarse, this hardened, that they begin not to realize their interests, their actions become irrational, such as arresting their talented artist,” he said.

Karoyan stressed the importance of such demonstrations in Armenia, and explained the scarcity of supporters at today’s demo by the fact that the Armenian public is based on tradition and inertia.

“That is to say, why do we care? What does Ai Weiwei have to do with us? But this shows our public environment’s not free, not creative, and somewhat petty bourgeois expression of spirit,” he said.

According to Andreasyan, the lack of interest and involvement in demonstrations not related to local events is explained by the issue of inside vs. outside. “In Armenia, our vectors are directed more inward, but the inside-outside circulation is very important.”

Andreasyan noted that this doesn’t mean the Armenian public are petty bourgeoisie.

“This is simply a problem of ignorance and circulation of values. Since citizens are more involved in domestic problems, that’s why few participate in such a demonstration here,” he added.