Over the last few weeks, we have followed press reports of developments at the Hamazkayin “Sos Sargsyan” State Theater in Armenia. We are concerned about the situation that has developed there.
The Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society has traveled a long path with the Hamazkayin Theater without having any legal ties with it.
It was no coincidence that the theater established by legendary doyen of Armenian theater and cinema, Sos Sargsyan, was named Hamazkayin.
In the early 1990s, the Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society and the Hamazkayin Theater were established in newly independent Armenia together, and worked hand in hand. In 1991, through the efforts of veteran artists including Sos Sargsyan, Hamazkayin established an office in Armenia. A few years later, Sos Sargsyan initiated the establishment of the Hamazkayin Theater, having the support not only of the Hamazkayin office in Armenia but of the entire venerable worldwide network of Hamazkayin.
While the Hamazkayin Theater later received the “State Theater” designation, it remained in the center of attention of Hamazkayin and enjoyed its ongoing support. The Hamazkayin Theater and Hamazkayin Society have a very important characteristic in common: loyalty. The successive central executive boards of the Hamazkayin Society continued faithfully to sustain the theater, and the theater’s creative crew continued faithfully and with unstinting dedication to serve the theater and aid its success.
After Sos Sargsyan’s death, the Hamazkayin Theater continued with its mission, thanks to Sos’s worthy heirs, who developed as artists in this theater, remaining true to Sos Sargsyan’s legacy—a legacy before which every Armenian bows his or her head.
The theater-going public has formed a high opinion of the activities of the Hamazkayin “Sos Sargsyan” Theater. It is our collective responsibility to secure its future. We all have a moral obligation to guarantee the continued activity of the theater, in Sos Sargsyan’s spirit, creating an atmosphere conducive to artistry, far from sectarian or individual interests, founded in comity and mutual respect.
No one has the right to harm the Hamazkayin theater that is the fruit of Sos Sargsyan’s superhuman efforts and bears his name.
Central Executive Board
Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society
Beirut, December 5, 2018