SERIOUS CONCERN AT SHENGAVIT HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CULTURE PRESERVE IN YEREVAN

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Nor Or Weekly - Thursday August 29, 2013

My involvement for three years to help support the Shengavit Historical
and Archaeological Culture Preserve in Yerevan, from 2012 - 2013 the
Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) adopted a program to
support Shengavit's director in making disparately needed maintenance
to the 6000 year old late stone-age site in Yerevan. Higher level
officials (the director of the Erebuni museum and preserve) prevented
the continuation of this program.

Some of Shengavit's land was improperly privatized but Shengavit's
director got the owners of the privatized land to agree to return
the land. But Erebuni's director who has authority over Shengavit has
not officially incorporated this land back into the Shengavit preserve.

There are other issues of corruption with Erebuni's director as well.

Please note that this report is my report alone, and not CYSCA's
report. CYSCA is involved in other programs in Yerevan and while
I can not speak on CYSCA's behalf on this matter, apparently CYSCA
does not want to jeopardize other programs which are in progress. I
feel the information in my article, from a moral point, needs to be
revealed and discussed.

We will not make changes in Armenia unless issues of corruption are
openly discussed. That is hard to do here in Armenia, but nothing is
holding back us in the Diaspora.

I've always been reluctant to write negatively about Armenia, but in
this case I have a moral responsibility to relate my experience. I
promise subsequent articles will be more positive, and there are many
positive things to relate about this place.

Please feel free to contact me at the above two email addresses,
or after Aug 20 at 978 772-9417 in the US.. If you wish to contact
Mr. Vladimir Tshagharyan, the former director of the Shengavit
Historical and Archaeological Culture Preserve, please let me know
and I will facilitate it.

Mr. Tshagharyan does not know English. Thank you for your contributions
to the Armenian community and Armenia,

JOSEPH DAGDIGIAN Harvard, MA, USA Yerevan, Armenia


From: Baghdasarian