The Tsitsernakaberd memorialAn incomplete map showing the position of the highest state officials by countries that have visited the memorial
Heads of State
Heads of Government
Heads of Parliamentary body
A cabinet minister
Tsitsernakaberd is the official memorial to the Armenian genocide victims in Yerevan, Armenia. It was opened in 1967 after a mass demonstration that took place in Yerevan on April 24, 1965, on the 50th anniversary of the deportation of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals from Constantinople that marked the beginning of the genocide.[1][2] After Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the memorial became a part of official ceremonies. Since then, almost every foreign official who visited Armenia included a visit to the memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide.[3] A visit to Tsitsernakaberd often includes a tour in the nearby museum. Some notable visitors have planted trees at the memorial.
O Judge of the living and the dead, have mercy on us! Listen, O Lord, to the lament that rises from this place, to the call of the dead from the depths of the Metz Yeghérn, the cry of innocent blood that pleads like the blood of Abel, like Rachel weeping for her children because they are no more.
Pope John Paul II arrived in Yerevan on September 25, 2001, to participate in the celebrations of 1,700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity as the national religion of Armenia.[7] The Pope visited the memorial the next day after meeting with President Robert Kocharyan. He laid a wreath for the victims of the genocide, made a short speech, and read a prayer.[8][9] The Pope used the term Metz Yeghern (the Armenian word for genocide, which literally translates as "Great Crime") in his prayer, causing a controversy regarding whether he recognized the events of 1915 as a genocide or not.[10][11] Nevertheless, it aroused a wave of discontent in Turkey.[12]
Hillary Clinton's visit in 2010
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Yerevan on July 4, 2010, on America's independence day, thus becoming the highest-ranked American official to visit the country. Her visit was considered "to be symbolic but nonetheless significant" and her possible visit to Tsitsernakaberd became a subject of much discussion in the Armenian media. The United States had not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide officially and by visiting the genocide memorial, many thought that by her visit, the United States sent a clear political message to Turkey.[13] She visited the memorial on July 5, before leaving for Tbilisi. The wreath that Clinton laid at the memorial read "From Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton" although it was first announced that her visit would be non-official.[14]
UN GA President, 2022
Abdulla Shahid, President of the United Nations General Assembly, visited the memorial and the museum on July 27, 2022, and posted pictures of the visit to Twitter, however he later deleted the post.[15][16] Turkey's Foreign Ministry stated that Shahid's visit "has been exploited with the purpose of exposing one-sided Armenian claims and it is in that context that he paid a visit to the so-called genocide memorial." Turkey said Shahid "would have been expected to act in a fair and impartial manner, to be more careful and responsible in this regard."[17]
Refusals
Turkish President Abdullah Gül visited Armenia in September 2008 to attend a football match between the Armenian and Turkish national teams in Yerevan. Since the Turkish government denies the fact of genocide, he did not visit the memorial.[18] Other presidents who opted not to pay a visit to Tsitsernakaberd were Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[19] They refused to visit the memorial so as not to compromise their bilateral relationship with neighboring Turkey.[20][21]
↑ Stephen J. Flanagan; Samuel J. Brannen; Bulent Aliriza (2009). Turkey's evolving dynamics: strategic choices for U.S.-Turkey relations. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies. p.69. ISBN9780892065769.
↑ Hakobyan, Tatul (February 18, 2020). "Աբդալլահ թագավորը ծառ չի տնկել Ծիծեռնակաբերդում" (in Armenian). ANI Armenian Research Institute (via CivilNet). Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Իրականում Աբդալլահ թագավորը բարձրացել է Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, սակայն այցը հուշահամալիր և թանգարան եղել է ոչ հրապարկային և փակ լրատվամիջոցների համար:
↑ "Bulgarian, Armenian presidents discuss transport links,cooperation". BBC. 2 Dec 1999. After the official talks Stoyanov, who was given the freedom of the city of Yerevan, laid a wreath at the Memorial Complexcommemorating the victims of the 1915 genocide (a large number of Armenians were massacred then by the Turks).
↑ "Azeri daily criticizes Georgian leader's visit to genocide memorial". BBC. 25 October 2001. Shevardnadze and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan laid a wreath at the memorial complex.
↑ "President visits Armenia". The official website of the President of the Republic of Poland. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
↑ "Russian premier, Armenian Catholicos discuss "historically friendly relations"". BBC. 6 November 2002. Before that the Russian prime minister visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial and the Genocide Museum. He said that he was shocked by the barbarism of the Turks and impressed by the heroism of the Armenians who had managed to survive. He laid a wreath at the memorial complex and planted a tree, in accordance with tradition.
↑ Sassounian, Harut (28 January 2014). "Syrian President Finally Recognizes the Armenian Genocide". Asbarez. Retrieved 4 February 2014. ...Abd al-Qader Qaddura, Speaker of the Syrian Parliament, when he inscribed a poignant statement in the Book of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide Monument and Museum in Yerevan on July 16, 2001...
↑ "Bulgarian, Armenian Speakers view need to boost relations in "all areas"". BBC. 13 February 2006. Pirinski conferred also with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian on Monday. The Bulgarian parliamentary delegation laid a wreath at the Great Genocide Memorial complex.
↑ "Swiss foreign minister's trip to Armenia focuses on regional mediation". BBC. 12 June 2006. She also laid a wreath at a memorial for the victims of the genocide by troops of the former Ottoman Empire 90 years ago.
↑ United States. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (1995). Daily Report: East Europe, Issues 105-115. The Service. p.38. Jovanovic, who is on a two-day official visit to Armenia, laid a wreath on the monument to victims of genocide of Armenians in Yerevan early on Sunday.
↑ Malkasian, Mark (1996). Gha-ra-bagh!: The Emergence of the National Democratic Movement in Armenia. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p.83. ISBN9780814326046.
↑ Acemoglu, Murat (3 May 1997). "Barking Dogs, and Dogs in General". Armenian Reporter. p.2. He laid a wreath at the Genocide Memorial at Dzidzernagapert on April 24 and made the following remarkable statement, "This is a memorial day of greatest tragedy, a day when a program to annihilate the Armenian nation in historical Armenia, the motherland of Armenians, was executed. The responsibility for this great tragedy lies not only on the direct executors but the great powers as well, for allowing this tragedy to occur."
↑ "Publisher logo. Links to publisher website, opened in a new window. US envoy says talks with Armenian leadership "very fruitful"". BBC. 21 May 1999. Before leaving for the airport, the State Department representative visited Tsitsernakaberd, the site of the memorial complex to the victims of the 1915–23 genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
↑ "Speaker of Russian parliament's upper chamber in Armenia". BBC. 22 May 2002. On the same day Sergey Mironov laid a wreath at the monument to victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex.
↑ "Senator Jack Reed Makes First Trip to Armenia". Armenian Reporter. 13 September 1997. p.28. The delegation also toured U.S.- and internationally-funded facilities, and visited Holy Etchmiadzin and the Armenian Genocide Memorial.
↑ Boghosian, Edward (20 February 1993). "President L. Der Bedrosian in Meeting with Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Discusses Immediate Needs of Armenia". Armenian Reporter. During his brief stay in the Armenian capital, Mr. Kennedy first went to the Martyrs Monument on the Dzidzernagapert hill where he placed a wreath at the immortal flame.
1 2 "Congressmen Kennedy and Pallone Plant Trees of Hope In Yerevan". Armenian Reporter. 27 June 1997. In memory of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, Congressmen Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) planted trees provided by the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) at Yerevan's Genocide Memorial (Tzitzernakaberd) during their recent visit to Armenia.
↑ "Annie And Sami Totah To Host Fundraiser For House Democratic Leader Gephardt Sponsored By Congressman Pallone". Armenian Reporter. 3 October 1998. Congressman Gephardt visited the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan during his visit to Armenia.
↑ "Rogan Delegation Returns From Armenia and Karabagh". Armenian Reporter. 9 October 1999. Following their tour of the Armenian Genocide Museum and Monument, Armenian Scouts joined them in laying a wreath at the memorial. Rogan, joined by the Lori Regional Governor Henrik Kochinian, planted a tree there from the Assembly's Armenia Tree Project.
↑ Congressional Record, V. 150, Pt. 6, April 20, 2004 to May 4, 2004. Government Printing Office. 2009. p.7688.
↑ United States Congress, ed. (2010). Congressional Record, V. 153, Pt. 7, April 18, 2007 to April 26, 2007. Government Printing Office. p.9693. ISBN9780160871184.
↑ "Photo Gallery". Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in the State of Hesse. Archived from the original on 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
↑ Ghazarian, Salpi Haroutinian (April 1996). "Of Diakonia and Koinonia: The World Council of Churches Offers Service and Fellowship". AIM: Armenian International Magazine. 7 (4): 30. ISSN1050-3471.
↑ "Kirk Kerkorian, in First Visit to Armenia, Holds Meetings with Armenian Officials, Announces Major New Assistance: Billionaire Visits Martyrs Memorial". Armenian Reporter. 27 June 1997. Accompanied by high-ranking officials of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Kerkorian, who although past 80 is still robust and physically active, visited the Martyrs Memorial on Tsitsernakaberd Hill and paid tribute to the over 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 carried out by the leaders of the Ottoman Empire.
1 2 "Members of British royal family visit Armenia". BBC. 5 November 2001. Today, during the first day of their visit, the members of the British royal family laid a wreath at the Tsitrenakaberd memorial complex, commemorating the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey.
↑ "Around the Valley". Fresno Bee. 28 June 2004. While in Armenia, Welty placed a wreath at Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide Monument; had an audience with His Holiness Karekin II, supreme patriarch and catholicos of all Armenians; and was honored at a reception by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway at the U.S. Embassy.
↑ "The Zoryan Institute Co-sponsors, with National Commission, 3-Day International Conference on "The Problems of Genocide"; President Levon Der Bedrosian Makes Opening Speech". Armenian Reporter. 27 May 1995. Dr. Akcam went to the Dzidzernagapert Monument and laid his wreath at the martyrs' shrine.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
