It Seems That the $700,000 is a Different Kind of 'Overkill': Naira Zohrabyan

Armenian National Assembly Member Naira Zohrabyan addressed the topic of the capital's New Year expenditures on her Facebook page: "A $700,000 'Christmas Tree Party' and Goran Bregovic. According to the decision by the pro-government faction of the Yerevan City Council, approximately $700,000 will be spent on New Year events in Yerevan.

Since Armenia’s independence, such a sum has never been allocated for any New Year event. No, I support the idea that every holiday should be celebrated with dignity. But somehow $700,000 seems like a different kind of 'overkill.' Let me remind everyone that Yerevan has around 4,500 elevators, many of which should have long been taken out of service, and some of them are simply 'death elevators.'

Meanwhile, in 2019, the city hall purchased only 20 elevators and allocated 2 elevators for each community. Let's not even factor in that if the costs for the Christmas tree were a bit more modest, how many 'death elevators' could have been replaced?

Let’s also humbly remain silent regarding the lighting and sanitation of many city streets. Yes, the media has also reported that Bregovic's fee is $290,000. Let’s not take the press at their word just yet and await an official response from the city hall.

Is this cynicism or some new type of complex? I don't know and I’m not even interested. However, when residents of Yerevan have numerous vital priorities and on this backdrop, you throw a $700,000 'Christmas Tree Party,' it seems a bit shameful. In the end, the holiday is not determined by the amount of money spent, but by the mood of the citizens and their desire to participate in the festivities. I find it hard to imagine that every day, a citizen going up and down in a 'death elevator' would applaud a $700,000 'Christmas Tree Party.'"