(Saturday, April 25)
“Zhamanak” notes that Yerevan found itself at the center of international attention on Friday during official ceremonies to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide. “Of course, it would be desirable, to say the least, if Armenia and the Armenians had no historical tragic reason to be at the center of that attention, if there was no centenary or any other anniversary of the genocide, and if we came under an international spotlight on other, more pleasant occasions,” writes the paper. “On the other hand, that is the whole point of the genocide centennial.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” says that the incessant stream of people to the Tsitsernakabert genocide memorial in Yerevan continued on Friday night. “Although this is what happens on every April 24, the genocide centenary was a really special occasion in terms of the overall atmosphere, popular mood and the global resonance caused by the event,” writes the paper. It describes as historic the April 23 ceremony in Echmiadzin during which the 1.5 million genocide victims were declared saints by the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Interviewed by “Hraparak,” political analyst Ruben Mehrabian suggests that the German parliament, the Bundestag, did not formally vote on an Armenian genocide resolution on Friday for largely “technical” reasons.” But, he says, Turkish pressure may have also been a factor given Germany’s close ties with Turkey.
“Aravot” criticizes those Armenians who thought that Friday’s speeches at Tsitsernakabert delivered by Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Francois Hollande of France did not do far enough. The paper says it is naïve to expect them to demand Turkish reparations to the genocide victims. It argues that each foreign power has its own strategic interests and may put a particular spin on its position on the genocide issue. “But this cannot overshadow the positive fact that Putin, Hollande and many other high-ranking and ordinary foreign guests came here to honor the victims of the genocide and express their solidarity with our people,” it concludes in an editorial.
(Tigran Avetisian)