UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid, lays flowers at the eternal flame at Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument on Jul. 27
The United Nations General Assembly President, who is in Armenia, deleted his Twitter post about visiting the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex on Wednesday, after reportedly receiving complaints from the Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.
In his now deleted post, Abdulla Shahid, the UN leader who is in Armenia on an official visit, said in his post that he laid a wreath at the monument and thanked the managed of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute for organizing the tour.
The now deleted post by UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid
Armenia’s Deputy Minister Vahe Gevorgyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations Mher Margaryan and the UN Armenia Acting Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia accompanied Shahid to Dzidzernagapert.
While at the monument, Shahid laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame, observing a moment of silence in the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Harutyun Marutyan also presented to Shahid the history of the three cross-stones erected within Dzidzernagapert Memorial Complex, dedicated to the memory of the Armenians who were killed during the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population in the end of the last century.
The delegation then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum, with Shahid signing the guest book.
The incident cast a pall over his entire visit, during which he reportedly discussed the issue of Armenian prisoners of war being held captive in Azerbaijan with President Vahagn Khachatryan.
During a meeting with Matevosyan, the deputy foreign minister, the sides “touched on the Armenia-UN partnership, highlighted the necessity of effective implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the Agenda 2030,” according to the foreign ministry press service.
According to press reports, Shahid’s visit continued as planned with official Yerevan making no statement—or demands—regarding the suppression of Shahid’s free _expression_ by Turkey, with whom Armenia is engaged in discussions to normalize relations.