Political Activist on Trial Urges Yerevan Mayor Not to Betray His Father

At the start of today's trial in the case against political activist Shant Harutyunyan and his friends, Harutyunyan urged Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan (pictured) not to install the statue of Soviet leader Anastas Mikoyan in the Armenian capital.

According to Harutyunyan, if the municipality wants to install monuments of Bolsheviks, it can install monuments to Kamo (Semeno Arshakovitch Ter-Petrossian), Sarkis Kasyan, and Aghasi Khanjyan, for example. 

Mikoyan, unlike the others, Harutyunyan said, is a traitor not only to the state, but also to his family and father. 

"At least you, whose father was Andranik Margaryan, dear Taron, you should know well what a sordid structure the KGB is. The KGB corrupts a man until the end, forces him to betray not only his country, but also his father. Don't become a son who betrays his own father. If you're forced because of your position, at least install Kamo's statue, not Mikoyan's," he said.

Taron Margaryan's father, Andranik Margaryan, during the Soviet years was a member of the underground National Unity Party, which campaigned for Armenia's succession from the Soviet Union. In 1974, he was arrested and sentenced to two years in Soviet labor camps for fighting against the Soviet regime.

Recently, there has been much discussion on social networking sites and in local media concerning the municipality's decision to erect a monument to Soviet leader Anastas Mikoyan. Many public and cultural figures, academics, and civil society activists are against the decision.