03.02.2024


Serge Barcelini, President of the French "Le Souvenir français" Association (established in 1887), headed a delegation visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial complex, accompanied by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France, Mr. Olivier Decottignies, on February 3, 2024.

Edita Gzoyan, acting director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, welcomed the guests. She then accompanied them round the Genocide Memorial complex, presenting the history of its creation. She also narrated the history of the three khachkars placed in Tsitsernakaberd in memory of the Armenians who died in the massacres organized by the government of Azerbaijan 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 the Memory Wall who died during the Artsakh struggle for survival. She emphasised the connection between the Armenian Genocide and contemporary acts of persecution and violence against Armenians and also referred to the historical and legal aspects of the Artsakh issue, describing Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian actions and propaganda.

Mr. Olivier Decottignies laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, after which the accompanying guests laid flowers at the Eternal Fire and observed a minute’s silence in memory of the innocent martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.

Mrs. Gzoyan accompanied the guests to the Memory Wall, which contains, in special niches on its reverse side, small containers of soil taken from the graves of several 19th and 20th-century foreign public figures, politicians, intellectuals and missionaries who raised voices of protest against the massacres and deportations of Armenians carried out by the Turkish government.

Hasmik Martirosyan, AGMI senior tour guide, led the guests through permanent and temporary exhibitions at the Armenian Genocide Museum. Mr. Olivier Decottignies left a note in the Memory Book for Honoured Guests.

AGMI Acting Director Edita Gzoyan presented books about the Armenian Genocide to the guest and expressed her gratitude for their visit.