On May 3, the delegation headed by Xavier Bertrand, the chairman of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council of France, visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial, accompanied by the Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France Hasmik Tolmajyan.
The guests were welcomed by the AGMI Director Harutyun Marutyan, who presented the history of the creation of the Memorial. He then presented the story of the three khachkars placed at Tsitsernakaberd in memory of the Armenians who died in the massacres organized by the Azerbaijani government in the cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad (Gandzak) and Baku at the end of the 20th century, as well as the stories of the five freedom fighters buried in front of Hushapat during the Artsakh struggle of survival—these components of the Memorial emphasize the connection between the Armenian Genocide and contemporary acts of persecution and violence against Armenians.
The French guests put flowers at the Eternal Fire and observed a minute’s silence in memory of the innocent martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.
AGMI Director Harutyun Marutyan, accompanied the guests to Hushapat, in the back of which, in special niches, small jars full of soil taken from the graves of a number of foreign public figures, politicians, intellectuals and missionaries who raised their voice of protest against the mass massacres of Armenians and genocide carried out by the Turkish government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are summarized.
The delegation then toured the Armenian Genocide Museum. Having been accompanied by AGMI senior guide Hasmik Martirosyan, they became acquainted with the permanent and temporary exhibitions housed at the Museum. Following the delegation’s tour, Xavier Bertrand left a note in the Memory Book for Honourable Guests.
