On April 24, member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox, accompanied by the NA Deputy Hripsime Grigoryan, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial.
Caroline Cox delivered a message after laying flowers at the eternal fire commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
“First, a very sincere thank you, message of gratitude to the Armenian people, who’ve hold the frontline of faith and freedom for the rest of the world. You’ve done so in great sacrifice and enormous suffering, and you had to live with neighbors who do not have respect for human rights or democracy, but you are like a beacon of light in a very dark part of the world.
My second message is a one of anger. The international community has allowed Turkey and Azerbaijan impunity with a violation of human rights and to perpetrate atrocities. In three genocides I would say, obviously there is a genocide of 1915 and, we know that it’s not recognized. And then I’d say there were two other genocides: there was a war carried out by Azerbaijan against Artsakh in 1990 to 94, and then there is a recent war in 2020 which is full of horrors and war crimes, and, indeed Genocide watch, the independent organization, has defined the recent war as genocide. So we’re commemorating genocide but still continuing genocide against your people.
My third message is one of love and affection. I’ve had the big privilege of visiting your nation over 85 times, and many were during the previous war in Artsakh. And I also came with my colleague Reverend David Thomas during the last war. And we always return humbled and inspired by your people, by your courage, your hospitality, your culture, your commitment to democracy. It’s hard to think of any nation in the world of a comparable size, that has contributed so much to human civilization in art, in culture, in education, so many areas of achievement,” Caroline Cox concluded.
