PM Pashinyan’s comments on Armenian Genocide spark accusations of denialism

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan meets with representatives of the Armenian community in Switzerland (Photo: RA Prime Minister’s Office, January 24, 2025)

YEREVAN—Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent comments on the Armenian Genocide have ignited a firestorm of criticism across Armenia and the global Armenian nation. 

Speaking to members of the Armenian diaspora in Zurich on January 24, Pashinyan suggested that the full significance of the Armenian Genocide was not fully understood until the 1950s. He posed the questions: “How is it that there was no agenda for the Armenian Genocide in 1939, and how is it that the agenda for the Armenian Genocide appeared in 1950? How did it happen?” 

“We need to revisit the history of the Armenian Genocide. We need to understand what happened, why it happened, and through whom we perceived the events,” the prime minister continued.  

Pashinyan’s remarks have drawn immediate and sharp rebukes from multiple national and religious institutions, political groups and civil society organizations in Armenia and the diaspora. His comments questioning the historical and national perception of the Armenian Genocide are seen as an attempt to distance Armenia from the history that has long formed a cornerstone of its identity and foreign policy. 

In response to Pashinyan’s comments, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin reaffirmed its stance on the genocide, which it says has been an integral part of the Church’s religious and national identity for over a century. The statement highlighted that, as early as 1921, under the leadership of Catholicos Gevorg VI Surenyants, the Armenian Apostolic Church declared April 24 as the official day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide. 

“The creation of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, constructed in 1967, and the canonization of the genocide martyrs in 2015 are the embodiment of our nation’s collective will to honor and condemn this horrific event,” the statement reads. The Church emphasized that the Armenian Genocide is not only a crime against the Armenian people but also a crime against humanity, and recognition of the genocide is a moral and historical imperative for both Armenia and the international community. The Church added that Pashinyan’s remarks are at odds with its firm position that the genocide must be universally condemned and recognized.

The Supreme Body of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Armenia also issued a strong condemnation of Pashinyan’s “anti-national, anti-state and anti-scientific” comments, which it said undermine the collective rights and identity of the Armenian people. The ARF accused Pashinyan of catering to the demands of Turkey and Azerbaijan by questioning the undeniable fact of the Armenian Genocide and undermining the recognition efforts of over 40 countries, as well as initiatives to prevent future crimes against humanity.

The ARF further criticized Pashinyan’s remarks for dishonoring the work of generations of Armenians who fought for international recognition and for insulting the memory of the one and a half million Armenian martyrs canonized by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Emphasizing the importance of recognition, the ARF stated that it is vital not only for Armenia’s national interests but also for international justice. The party warned that abandoning the pursuit of genocide recognition would not neutralize the threats posed by Azerbaijan’s territorial demands, but would instead embolden hostile political agendas. 

The Armenian National Committee (ANC) International also sharply criticized Pashinyan’s statements for echoing “the same arguments put forth by Turkey and Azerbaijan, who continue to deny the undeniable historical fact of the genocide.” According to the ANC, these remarks “are nothing less than an insult to the memory of the innocent victims” and to “the hundreds of humanitarians and scholars who have fought for its recognition.”

The ANC also criticized Pashinyan’s suggestion that the Armenian people “received” their history from outside sources, calling this view ignorant and historically inaccurate. It claimed that Pashinyan’s actions are driven by a need to find allies among hostile forces — namely, Turkey and Azerbaijan — as he faces growing opposition domestically. 

The Genesis Armenia think tank also joined the chorus of criticism, stating that the prime minister’s rhetoric marks a dangerous turn in Armenia’s foreign policy. It cautioned: “Pashinyan’s remarks undermine Armenia’s moral authority and long-established commitment to the recognition and condemnation of the genocide. They suggest a troubling openness to revising the historical narrative surrounding the Armenian Genocide, which could embolden denialist forces in both Turkey and Azerbaijan.” 

Genesis Armenia noted that this shift in narrative could have long-term negative consequences for Armenia’s geopolitical position, especially in light of ongoing Azerbaijani territorial demands. “If Armenia moves away from its position on the genocide, it risks diminishing the moral foundation of its diplomacy and international standing, which has traditionally been built upon the principle of historical truth and justice for the victims of the genocide,” it said, adding that Pashinyan’s remarks not only threaten to fracture Armenia’s national unity but also embolden forces seeking to undermine Armenia’s sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has continued to press forward with his territorial demands, particularly the establishment of a “Zangezur Corridor,” a proposed land passage that would connect Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhichevan through Armenian territory. Aliyev has framed this as an issue of national security, stating that Azerbaijan must have free access for transportation and economic development. Aliyev told the press on Tuesday: “This is not an issue that Armenia can decide unilaterally. We will take practical steps to ensure the establishment of this corridor, with or without Armenia’s approval.”

Recent statements by Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and the Secretary of the Security Council present a nuanced and somewhat contradictory view of Armenia’s security outlook. The Foreign Intelligence Service’s annual report takes a measured approach, downplaying the likelihood of a large-scale military confrontation with Azerbaijan. The analysis suggests that while “the likelihood of a large-scale attack on Armenia by the Azerbaijani side is not assessed as high,” the risks of local tensions and escalation along the border remain significant in the absence of an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty. The report highlights the ongoing border demarcation and delimitation efforts as potential avenues for de-escalation.

On the other hand, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, has painted a more alarming picture, voicing concerns over Azerbaijan’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric. He specifically pointed to recent military exercises and the transfer of foreign military equipment to Baku as troubling signs. Grigoryan emphasized that Armenia is doing everything it can to foster regional stability amid these growing tensions.

Hoory Minoyan

Hoory Minoyan

Hoory Minoyan was an active member of the Armenian community in Los Angeles until she moved to Armenia prior to the 44-day war. She graduated with a master's in International Affairs from Boston University, where she was also the recipient of the William R. Keylor Travel Grant. The research and interviews she conducted while in Armenia later became the foundation of her Master’s thesis, “Shaping Identity Through Conflict: The Armenian Experience.” Hoory continues to follow her passion for research and writing by contributing to the Armenian Weekly.
Hoory Minoyan

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46 Comments

  1. I am shocked and sick… with a very high BP!
    I have written so many historical poetry books about genocide as my ancestors suffered…
    Those are my books and Eight of them were Inaugurated at Komitas Museum in Yerevan… One should send Pashinyan many copies to read…
    Sylva’s Twenty-Eight Poetry Collections since July 2007 will be >30!
    Lance my Hart {Heart} at a Glance (July 2007)
    [Modified to the Arabic Language by Poet: Sylva (January 2019)
    Delete Depression ~ Type Inspiration (November 2007)
    A Poetic Soul Shined of Genocides (August 2008)
    Angel ‘Lilit’ Lilting via Internet (October 2008)
    Sons: Take My Heart and Transplant (February 2009)
    Millennium Brains’ Lacrimates (March 2009)
    Politics Play~People Pay~Poets Proms~Pledging Pray (May 2009)
    E-Mails: Beneath Blossoming Trees (June 2009)
    Songs of Searing Desert Storms (December 2009)
    Sylva’s Serenade Dative Eyes (January 2010)
    My Son~My Sun: Chants Ann, Obama’s Mother (June 2011)
    Syndromes of Souls (March 2012)
    Carve Poetry ‘INtTO’ Your Psyche (July 2014)
    Gomidas~Komitas, ‘My Musical Saint’ (April 2016)
    Arches of Symphonious ‘Sabre Dance’ of Ballet Gayane (May 2017)
    Churchill at Ararat with Sylva’s Ethereal Love Songs (May 2018)
    Sylva’s Blossoming Years~’SERDIS’~Armenian Poems (May 2018)
    Your Brain ‘IS-NOT’ a Box (June 2018)
    BRING OUT our Genocided Skulls & Artful Hands! (April 2019)
    Sylva’s >1000 Poems for 1000 Nights (February 2023)
    Why Hate=Hateness=Hatism=Why!?! (March 2023)
    Your Blue~Green Eyes~Sparkling Love (April 2023)
    Sylva’s AI Poetic Stories (April 2024)
    Gomidas Musical God (May 2024)
    Pedicide ‘iss’ Genocide (September 2024)
    English~Italian Poems (October 2024)
    New Poetic Words~Sylva’s Poetic Dictionary (2024 !)
    Children Rhymes (2025 !)
    Artsakh War & Holocausted Sons! (2025 !)
    Fruits Serenades Stanzas (2025 !)
    Female Healing Poems (2025 !)
    Roads to Happiness! (2025 !)
    Dr. Sylva Portoian is the Carnegie Spring 2009 Poetry Contest Winner of Policy Innovations (Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs) for her poem Inauguration Day.

    • What are millions of Armenians in diaspora doing, touristing? from where these Armenians came from? Western powers want us divided so they can control the faith of Armenian land.

    • SHAME on you! Amot kezi, you call yourself a Doctor and instead of focusing on this painful act by the traitor pashinyan, you list your poetry books to make a sales pitch??
      Armenians like you should take the “ian” off their surname. This is not Facebook Marketplace, understood?

  2. It is not good to deny the Armenian Genocide. But also I think that it is good to update with research and facts the Armenian Genocide so that the new generations of Armenians are not indifferent to the true facts and testimonies of people who have lost everything, family, relatives, friends, houses, land. This will help to update not only the knowledge but also the historical conviction and the identity as Armenians and as a Christian nation.

  3. Mr. Pashinyan represents the democratic will of the people. We are now a westernized country, remember? So please show the man some respect, as he is the Western financed “leader” our “people” wanted not only in 2018 but also in 2020, 2021 and 2023…

      • @Hagop

        You can deny geography as much as you want but you can’t change geography.

        Armenia’s only ally is Russia.

    • Pashinyan is clearly in bed with Aliyev and Erdogon. He deserves nothing. No respect nothing. My grandparents suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and you want us to destroy their memories?? Who are you?? The letters left to me by my great grandparents who were marched to the desert and died in 1915 are true. You’re questioning the history??

    • On the Genocide issue, to Pashinian to be legit, all Armenians should vote on the Genocide and not only the Armenians in Armenia.

  4. This psychopath will say and do anything to absolve himself of his failures and unpatriotic and disastrous foreign policies that have caused so much damage to the nation in such a short time. Does anyone think he would be elected prime minister in 2018 after his fake “velvet revolution” if he raised such deliberate and baseless questions purely for provocation purposes, as if to legitimize his failures in hindsight, and showed his true face during the elections? Of course not! He would have been ostracize for his traitorous political beliefs and dropped as candidate for good. To say revisit and see why the Armenian Genocide happened is denialist and treasonous. There can be no “why” on any mass extermination and genocide and there is no statute of limitation on such crimes in order to try to sweep it under the rug. When he speaks about any subject that is very sensitive and critical to fellow Armenians he sounds like the spokesperson and the mouthpiece for our enemies. He has no shame. You would think a former journalist, who should be differentiated from ordinary Armenians, would know our history in great depth and detail but clearly that is not the case or he does know and is a true impostor and a con artist.

    I also remember when he stood in front of the entire nation at the parliament soon after his disastrous handling of the 2020 joint Turkish-Azerbaijani invasion of Armenian liberated territories and questioned the Armenian origin of the 1992 liberated town of Shushi the cultural capital of the Armenian Artsakh province. He argued and put to question to his opposition audience asking if this “gloomy” town was Armenian when the population of this town right before its liberation from the enemy occupation in 1992 was 93% Azerbaijani as if he had no clue about the recent history of the town when in 1920 the Azerbaijani criminals together with their terrorist Turkish collaborators, joining them freshly from committing the Armenian Genocide, attacked and burnt down everything Armenian and ethnically cleansed the town of its indigenous Armenian population murdering 20,000 in the process. What else did he expect the population of this town to be after seventy years of occupation under USSR and in absence of its murdered native Armenians? He is truly an embarrassment to the nation. I don’t know how and can’t believe this traitor is still in office but I do know most of those politically gullible and ignorant voters who voted him into office, not for his credentials because he had none but only for the purpose of getting rid of the former leaders and increase in their pensions, are now hiding in shame for being taken as fools by this impostor. A few of them who dare speak publically don’t even want to hear his name and want him gone for good!

    • A lot of these things only become better understood years later, initially the focus is on survival and perhaps revenge. Afterwards a more ritualistic commemoration develops in time along with the quest for recognition and in all those witness and survivors die and later on those who heard directly from those who witness and survivors. In time it becomes inexorably less relevant to the people’s present. The same happens with old glories.

  5. Pashinyan’s remarks smacks of the Armenian Genocide denial and campaigns of Turkey and Azerbaijan. But that such words come out of him, while not surprising anymore, is appalling nevertheless. This guy will do anything to appease Armenia’s two archenemies, who press for very harsh and humiliating concessions from Armenia. While it would be shocking, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Pashinyan drops the teaching of the Armenian Genocide in Armenian schools and is morphed into the denialist “Turkish-version” that it was just a “war” and that “many civilans on both sides were massacred”, as one of his many appeasements.

  6. Critics of Pashinyan should actually LISTEN to what he said in the video clip! Nowhere does he deny that a genocide occured. Rather, he raises the issue of how that genocide is understood by many Armenians in the diaspora. Furthermore, he asks Armenians do delve deeper into the role played by Armenians (church, political parties, etc.) in what unfolded in the Ottoman Empire of the day. For too long, many Armenians have conveniently avoided such sensitive topics…It’s as if Armenians were a “third-party” to history, independent of history, rather than “players”.

    • Those who commit the crime of genocide often stigmatize their victims by saying in essence “they deserved it” to justify their actions. Genocide is Genocide period and can never be condoned. If you haven’t already I would suggest you read the following first hand eyewitness accounts of the Armenian Genocide.
      1) Ambassador Morganthau’s Story, by Henry Morganthau, US Ambassadot to the
      Ottoman Empire 1913-16. 2) The Slaughterhouse Privince, by US Consul Leslie Davis who was present in Anatolia during the Armenian Genocide 3) Ravished Armenia by Aurora Mardiganian who as a teenage girl miraculously survived a truly terrible and heartbreaking ordeal during the Armenian Genocide 4) Armenian Golgotha by Father Grigoris Balakian who was one of the 250 influential Armenians rounded up on April 24, 1915 to be executed. He was sent on the death march but managed to survive thanks to some timely help by courageous individuals and his fluency in German. He was determined to survive to tell the story. We have these first hand eyewitness accounts which are far more credible than anything that will be fabricated at this point in time (or in the future) by people with ulterior motives.

    • Being fluent in Armenian and watching Pashinyan’s full interview in Armenian I can safely say there is absolutely something wrong with this man. Regardless of what he said and why he said it, which was rather odd and out of context, there can be no excuse and reason “why” a genocide is committed. Murdering in utmost brutal fashion 1.5 million defenseless Armenian civilians, regardless of their gender and age and purely because of their Armenian ethnicity, in premeditated and cold-blooded fashion, needless to say for centuries old fascist Turkish agenda, is what you would call a “Capital Crime” in the United States and in 1.5 million folds in this case. You can talk about, discuss and analyze many things about the events back in 1915 but to introduce a “why” in the discussion should be unforgivable. These were all innocent civilians who were targeted in the most opportune time, when the world was in chaos and engaged in a World War, and with the ultimate intention and goal of their physical removal and destruction through murder to seize their homeland for good and without their presence in order to put an end to the Armenian Cause.

      This is not the first time this senile mad man has made such irresponsible remarks. In recent tragic events, when the Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan was sounding the alarms to the “international community” about nearly a year-long blockade and starvation of Artsakh Armenians, Pashinyan countering him was at the same time claiming there was no danger to the physical safety of the fellow Armenian population there! This is the same man who was sending truckloads of aid to Turkish earthquake victims while letting Artsakh Armenians starve! This is also the same senile man who in one of his recent interviews in the Armenian capital said that when we try to form alliances and acquire weapons from them to protect us they may not sell them to us because we have Mount Ararat, as the national emblem of Armenia, which is prominently featured on the country’s coat of arms but today located, he can’t even say occupied, on terrorist Turkish soil, this alone can be interpreted by them as we not just needing these weapons to defend ourselves but that also because we have aggressive intentions for wanting to acquire them!Imagine that!

    • I think the point is that there needs to be an understanding that humanity must come to that simply does not excuse genocide for any reason. No matter the “why,” genocide is genocide and is Inhumane.
      Unfortunately, we are not there yet.

    • That’s denialism, but you can spin that any way you want. The victims of genocide care not at fault, even if some organizations made poor decisions.

  7. Mr. pashinyan is having same opinion with Hovhannes Katchaznouni: (The First Prime Minister of the independent
    Armenian Republic says in his report, entitled “Dashnagtzoutiun Has Nothing To
    Do Anymore”, submitted to the 1923 Dashnagtzoutiun Party Convention:)

  8. I think it’s worthwhile to listen to his question and search for the answer. How WAS it that the Armenian question didn’t come until after the holocaust? Perhaps, after what happened to the Jews and the similarities with what had happened to them, the Armenians posed the question later to be known as “the Armenian Question.”

    • There is absolutely nothing worthwhile about listening to an unpatriotic self-loathing ignorant fool who will say and do anything, sacrificing all our sacred values, just to save his own skin. He’s been a disaster ever since he lied his way into office and position of power he does not and never deserved. This is not who you choose as leader for a nation sandwiched between two fascist and genocidal states in a country that has been in state of war for the last thirty years.

      As to your question and inquiry about how it was that the Armenian Question did not come up until after the Holocaust is simply because the word or the term “Genocide” did not exist at the time and was not invented until 1944-1945 at the end of WWII by Rafael Lemkin a Polish lawyer of Jewish ancestry. He invented and coined this term based on both the Armenian and Jewish tragic experiences. Therefore, at the time when premeditated Armenian Genocide was carried out, there was no international treaty known as the “Genocide Convention” that legally defines and criminalizes genocide, obligating countries to prevent and punish the states and perpetrators of such acts, to do exactly as it says it is obligated to do. Search for “Rafael Lemkin” on YouTube and listen to what he says about how came up with that term.

      Pashinyan is a threat to our nation for as long as he holds the office of the prime minister of Armenia Every time he speaks about very sensitive and critical issues he inflicts harm on our nation. He sounds like the spokesperson and the mouthpiece for our enemies. Our enemy leaderships were the first ones to sound the alarms in defense of Pashinyan when the Armenian parliament was stormed by angry protesters demanding his resignation. They had found a stooge and a sheep they could squeeze out of him every and all concessions to cause maximum harm to our nation. That continues to this day!

  9. Pashinyan said a lot of ignorant things at this gathering (many of them not discussed in this article), and while he often talks about things he knows nothing about as if he was an expert, what he said does not on its face merit “accusations of denialism.” (Other things he has said on other occasions do, though.) His call to “revisit the history of the Armenian Genocide,” which possibly he thinks is a bold and original thought, is in fact what historians and scholars of genocide do.

  10. It looks like a political stunt in order to survive for modern day Armenia in the light of non-stop expansionist threats. His words don’t make any sense for those who suffered and all of us. It is a nonsense, but sometimes it works. Let’s pray for Armenia. Thank you, Dr. Sylvia and others who expressed their opinion for enrichment on this issue dear to us.

  11. It is shameful for Armenia ( and its people), to unrecognize or believe that it did’t happen, and I agree that he’s making amend under desperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan, he is selling out

  12. Pashinyan’s statement is sickening.
    I think his purpose was to endear himself to Turks and Genocide deniers like Bernard Lewis.
    Another reason, and I think the main one is to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, which had demanded that Armenia cease bringing up the Genocide topic as an undeniable historical fact as a pre-condition.
    As an Armenian, I think that Pashinyan’s leaning and counting on the West at the cost of angering the Armenian community worldwide and alienation from Russia is a diplomatic mistake.
    Remember it was the same Christian West that did not come to defend its’ Armenian co-religionists during the Genocide.
    In fact, the expression “Starving Armenian” became a sarcastic epithet to describe someone suffering from a terminal illness or malnutrition.
    In conclusion, I believe that Pashinyan’s statement is not worth Erdogan’s approval at the cost of alienating the Armenian community or Mr. Putin.

  13. Both political actors (Erdogan-Pashinyan) are advocating a “Revisionist” approach to history. Was it a Genocide”? NO. Was it an unfortunate chapter in a bigger drama that unfolded during a period of four years (1914-1918) and became known as World War I? It is a subject of debate and scrutiny by historians?

    Whatever absurdities Erdogan and Pashinyan want to introduce into the cacophony of “Denialism”, the irrefutable fact is unchaged; what happened in 1915 was a genocide, centrally planned, implemented by a long list of State Institutions. However, like Prof. Gasparyan stated at the end of his weekly presentation (30/1/2025), we are ready to extend an “Olive Branch” to Erdogan, but is he willing to admit the verdict of history?

    Erdogan, the Turkish leader who claims to be a proud admirer of Sultan Abdulhamid II cannot take such a step, because since 1923 not much has changed in the genocidal policies of Turkey, and the same ideology of hatred that motivated the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II (aka The Red Sultan) to launch the “Hamidian Massacres” that claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Armenians, dominated the thoughts and policies of the leaders of the “New” Turkish Republic.

    On February 10, 2018, during a ceremony marking the centenary of the death of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II held at The Yildiz Palace in Istanbul, Sultan Erdogan proudly declared:“The Republic of Turkey, just like our previous states that are a continuation of one another, is also a continuation of the Ottomans…Of course, the borders have changed. Forms of government have changed… But the essence is the same, soul is the same, even many institutions are the same.”

    Sultan Erdogan continued his diatribe against “bigoted” secular Western democracies, that often referred to Abdulahamid II as “The Red Sultan”, by insisting that Abdulhamid II, who slaughtered more than 200.000 Armenians (Hamidian Massacres), was one of the “…most important, most visionary and most strategic minded” ruler that left indelible marks on the political landscape of Turkey for the last 150 years.

    Sultan Erdogan concluded his speech by adding the following statement: “Some people insistently try to start this country’s history from 1923. Some unrelentingly try to break us from our roots and ancient values…We take pride in our history without making discrimination.”

    The centenary celebrations of 2018 made it very clear that Sultan Erdogan was determined to emulate the greatness of “The Red Sultan”. If Abdulhamid believed that, the best method to solve “The Minorities Problem” within his empire was total extermination of all minorities, Sultan Erdogan was ready to annihilate the minorities such as the Kurds, currently backstabbing Turkey the way Armenians did during the reign of Abdulhamid II. For more details check the following link:

    https://artsakhtheinadequateresponse.blogspot.com/2021/08/sultan-erdogan-pm-pashinyan-and-forging.html

    Reluctantly, we may at one point sit down and try to iron out a formula that will “Normalize” relations between Turkey and Armenians (Hayrenik, Diaspora), but two questions that no Armenian leader managed to answer will keep haunting us;
    a) How did Armenia survive, for more than three decades following the establishment of The Third Republic, with closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan?
    b) Is Sulatn Erdogan ready to follow the legacy left behind by German Chancellor Willy Brandt and willing to give us a Turkish version of “Kniefall von Warschau“?

    For those who are not familiar with the background details of the story, I am talking about an event that took place in Poland on December 7, 1970 during an official visit undertaken by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

    Chancellor Brandt laid a wreath at the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto. “It commemorates the courage of the thousands of Jews who lost their lives in the ghetto in a desperate bid to free themselves from their German oppressors. Brandt straightened the ribbon attached to the black-red-gold funeral wreath. He took a couple of steps back. Seconds passed. And then he fell to his knees, his head tipping forwards slightly. Remaining still on the cold granite. The photographers gathered closer, knowing the image they captured would go around the world.

    “Faced with the abyss of German history and the burden of the millions who had been murdered, I did what we humans do when words fail us,” was how Brandt put it in his memoirs. He went down on his knees like a sinner, in a reference to Christian imagery. He prayed, that Germans might be forgiven.”
    [Source: “50 years since Willy Brandt’s historic gesture in Poland” 12/06/2020 DW Global Media Forum]

    Faced with the abyss of the bloody legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the 1.5 million victims of The Armenian Genocide of 1915, do we have any hints that Sultan Erdogan is planning to visit Tzizernakapert and pray that Turks might be forgiven?

    • Based on Erdogan’s track record on this issue I think we can safely assume that there is the high possibility of pigs growing wings long before Erdogan contemplates visiting Tsitsernakaberd (Ծիծեռնակաբերդ) Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. To expect this con artist to take such a step is a fool’s errand. Erdogan is an opportunist hyena, plain and simple. This is the same man who suggested the formation of a committee of historians to study the Armenian Genocide claims, after getting rid of all incriminating evidence from Turkish archives, while at the same time denying and calling the genocide a lie even before this committee is formed. He has already decided what the outcome of this study should be. He is acting as the judge, jury and the executioner. You would think that if someone is truly sincere about this he would show restraint and remain neutral, to say the least, until such studies are performed instead of displaying a knee-jerk reaction to this issue denying it calling it a lie every time he is asked about it and that purely based on his racist preconceived notions rather than careful consideration.

      This is the same man who not so long ago ordered the reconversion of the 6th century Hagia Sophia, the Basilica and the Seat of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, into a Turkish Grand Mosque reminiscent of his Central Asian terrorist ancestors who invaded and occupied it under the banner of Islam and Turkish fascism. This is the same man who recently called Jerusalem “his city” and hinted his terrorist troops can enter that troubled region just like they entered karabakh a few years ago. He glorifies his criminal ancestors going all the way back to the 11th century including those who committed the Armenian Genocide and portraying occupying Turkish and pseudo-Turkish Azerbaijani forces and ethnic cleansers and murderers of native Armenians as their “liberating Islamic army”. Erdogan family’s jihadist foundation portrayed him as the “conqueror of Syria” after the fall of Bashar Assad which he facilitated through his ISIS proxy. And the list goes on…Is this really someone who will set foot on Armenian soil, visit Tsitsernakaberd and bow down his head to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, apologize and ask for forgiveness? I think not!

  14. Ayskan tcharig te moranan mer vortik tor voghch ashkharu Hayoon garta nakhadink.
    Mr. Pashinian the entire Armenian diaspora hates you.

  15. “Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story”. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918. Morgenthau would remark that describing the events at Van as an uprising as misleading and false, stating “I have told this story of the “Revolution” in Van not only because it marked the first stage in this organized attempt to wipe out a whole nation, but because these events are always brought forward by the Turks as a justification of their subsequent crimes. As I shall relate, Enver, Talaat, and the rest, when I appealed to them in behalf of the Armenians, invariably instanced the “revolutionists” of Van as a sample of Armenian treachery. The famous “Revolution,” as this recital shows, was merely the determination of the Armenians to save their women’s honour and their own lives, after the Turks, by massacring thousands of their neighbours, had shown them the fate that awaited them.”]

    Apparently the PM Pashinyan doesn’t understand the reality of what happened. His plan is appeasement because he is so impotent, so grossly incompetent as his track record clearly shows. He needs to be rid.

  16. The so-called “international community”, especially the self-righteous and preachy West, condemns the overthrow of a democratically elected leader by a coup d’état.

    But when this leader, usurps power, engages in treasonous activities, appeases the nation’s archenemies, which threatens the territorial integrity and even the existence of the nation-state, and worse, is meekly accepted by the majority, who will not overthrow such a leader in a revolution, then a coup d’état is the last option left to save the nation before the demise.

    Who cares what the reactions of the so-called “international community” and the “holier-than-thou” West are, when the country is at stake.

    Time is precious and is running out for Armenia, as long as this traitor and terminator Pashinyan stays in power and is not deposed.

  17. The knee-jerk comments here are indicative of emotionalists, and goes to show how brave PM Pashinyan was to even broach this subject (given the predictability of responses typified by such comments). One branded him as a “psychopath,” and others charged he was an agent of “Aliyev and Erdogan” (the absurdity of which is difficult to absorb). The last comment (above) from “Steve M” called him a “traitor,” as if a requirement for patriotism is to be dishonest. The rare comment that stressed reason was by “Hovhannes Harutiunian,” who urged people to “LISTEN,” and to review the spoon-fed claims objectively. In response, “Gary Zartarian” presented what he labeled as “evidence” in the form of the hearsay behind partisans such as Henry Morgenthau (who was called an “eyewitness” when the ambassador scarcely left what was then called Constantinople) and Grigoris Balakian (who made up far-fetched claims) and Aurora Mardiganian (the latter while representing “Ravished Armenia” as a work of history, when the ones behind the film themselves admitted it was meant to separate Americans from their dollars for the Near East Relief, the greatest charity drive in U.S. history). A highly committed respondent nicknamed “Ararat” repeated the familiar non-facts such as, “Rafael Lemkin… invented and coined this term based on both the Armenian and Jewish tragic experiences.” The reality is, there was no mention of Armenians in his 1944 book, “Axis Rule in Occupied Europe” (online and easy to look up), and a destitute Lemkin only began to mention Armenians after working with Christian groups circa 1949. Ararat went on with, “Murdering in utmost brutal fashion 1.5 million defenseless Armenians,” when that figure was widely accepted at the time as the entire prewar population (for example, Encyclopedia Britannica; the 1911 version is online), and as though most (including three times as many Ottoman soldiers losing their lives non-violently) throughout the Empire did not die from famine and disease. Allergy to facts and commitment to an idea make honest evaluation impossible. Those who keep repeating charged words such as “revisionism” and “denialism” should consult sources that were enemies of the “turks” at the time, principally the archival sources of Britain and Russia (the former unsuccessfully sought evidence for over two years, from 1919-1921, in preparation for the Malta Tribunal, even by assigning an Armenian team to scour the British-occupied Ottoman archives), and the works of Armenians themselves. For example, Boghos Nubar (e.g., Jan. 1919 letter to the Times of London), and “Why Armenia Should Be Free” (1918) by Armen Garo (Pasdermadjian; his book is online), are much in agreement with the “revisionist” view, where the Armenians behaved, as Boghos Nubar worded it, “belligerents de facto.” (Once combat is involved, the definition of “genocide” behind the 1948 U.N. Convention is nullified.)

  18. A thoughtful comment I posted taking exception to many of the comments here did not appear, so I just wanted to see if this test comment will. (If it does, then I’m going to wonder why my main comment apparently went by the wayside.)

    • To Jonathan- and one more thing. You mention Near East Relief. Where did those 133,000 orphans that Near East Relief cared for come from. Did all their parents decide en masses to commit suicide? Think about that! And those orphans were the “lucky ones” who weren’t buried alive in mass graves by the Turks. Oh yes, my grandparents saw that too!!!

  19. @Jonathan

    You Turk lovers are so blatant, dishonest and mendacious.

    There will be no surrender to the Turks or to the Turk lovers.

    • The solid facts presented only indicate I am a truth lover; loving truth does not equal loving Turks. You are making the baseless charge of my being a “Turk lover” because of an unshakable commitment to an idea that has shaped you, most likely since childhood.

      It is not ethical to make defamatory charges such as “dishonest” and “mendacious” unless you can prove what was written is not based on the facts (which means you would need to come up with references that will somehow counter the inarguable facts I have presented), but since you cannot, you find ad hominem attacks a far easier strategy — as below the belt as it is. If you consider yourself to be a good person, it would be to your credit to champion the truth as well, no matter how painful to your psychological upbringing.

      I would like to thank “Armenian Weekly” for allowing my comments to stand; you have reason to be proud of the integrity behind your decision.

      • It seems that for Armenians “Turk lover” is catch all smear for dissenting opinions questioning popular dogma

        The same can be said for many Jews using “Nazi” or Arabs using “Zionist”

  20. At the end of the day, let’s not forget that Mr. Pashinyan represents the democratic will of the Armenian people. Armenia is now a “Westernized” country with “European” aspirations, remember? So please show the duly-elected leader of Armenia some respect, as he is the Western-financed political activist a clear majority of our “people”, both in the homeland and in the diaspora, wanted to lead Armenia not only in 2018 but also in 2020, 2021 and 2023. So, if you naysayers believe in “democracy”, “Westernization” and “the American way”, stop your complaining and start supporting Mr. Pashinyan in his historic mission, a mission he was given a mandate for by the “people”…

    PS: I would really like to see Russia cut-off all financial, economic and energy ties with Armenia (the only thing keeping the impoverished nation afloat) and take its troops stationed on Armenia’s border with Turkey (the only thing keeping NATO-member Turkey out of Armenia) back to Russia. Sometimes you just have to let a terminally ill patient die…

    • Gurgen, I am a retired physician. You are not advocating to allow a terminally ill patient to die. You are advocating for active interventions that could result in the death of a patient. Your metaphor is way off. I pray that you are not in a health related field.

      • What I am advocating is the termination of life the support system on a terminally ill patient with no hope of recovery. Does what I just described make more sense for you now, doctor?

        Armenia has been on Russia’s life support system since 1991, yet Armenians, in all their wisdom, enthusiastically chose to open its doors wide to all forms toxic Western influences (i.e. NGOs, NED, USAID, British Council, European Council, Open Society Foundation, media, schools, activists, politicians, etc) the entire time. Nikol Pashinyan is merely the symptom of a much deeper ailment. In any case, Armenia is now terminally. I say let it die. Russians may decide to resurrect the country again someday, as they has done some two hundred years ago. Had Armenians not so politically illiterate and disconnected from reality, they would have realized all this.

        And where did you practice medicine? Don’t bother answering as that was a rhetorical question. Just reread what I said…

  21. Rouben Aftandelians,
    The said Christian west was fighting eachother in WW1 and hence resources just weren’t there to save Armenians in 1915 obviously ottoman Turkey was in conflict with the allied powers but their forces weren’t there to intervene directly. The allies did make mention for propaganda purposes and helped to establish “Wilsonian Armenia” unfortunately support tailed off, difficulty in providing direct support and the rise of the Bolsheviks and their ally kemalist Turkey meant the issue was forgotten about with other priorities arising and given Turkey cynically distancing from the Bolsheviks once they no longer needed their support as kemal was no communist but a nationalist further ensured the issues were overlooked for mercantile reasons.

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