During an interview on Azatutyun Radio, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian talked about the initiative and idea of the creation of “Hay Park” (Armenian Park) in the premises of Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.
The President stated that the world needs to reassess itself after the coronavirus pandemic and noted that the post-coronavirus period starts today. “We need to start thinking about how we’re going to live after the coronavirus today. In Armenia’s case, for instance, we can start from the public health sector. The air is two-three times cleaner than it was before the coronavirus. So, we have to think about making sure the air is always clean,” he said, adding that the parks of Yerevan are its ‘lungs’ and that the people need parks in order to live healthy.
In this context, President Sarkissian shared his idea of creating “Hay Park” (Armenian Park) in the premises of Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. “We Armenians will soon commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide and remind the world that not recognizing the Armenian Genocide or forgetting the lessons of history presents a danger to all mankind. In light of this, I would like to make a proposal that I have been thinking about for years. If you view the area stretching from the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex to Hrazdan Stadium, you will see a tremendous space which, if I’m not mistaken, is approximately 103 hectares. This area hasn’t been cultivated, and Yerevan needs a large park. I offer to establish a pan-national park that will start from the premises of Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and stretch along those 103 hectares,” he said and provided details of his idea.
“The park will be composed of parts presenting the regions of the historic homeland of Armenians, the Armenians of the Diaspora and the modern-day cities, districts and institutions of our homeland. This will be symbolic in the sense that the whole territory will be divided into separate parts, and trees will be planted. It would be nice, if there were nearly 1.5 million trees (one tree for each of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide). This park will depict the historical losses and Armenian statehood today, including Armenia and Artsakh.”
President Sarkissian said he has addressed letters to the government, the Prime Minister and the mayor of Yerevan with the proposal to discuss the issue. “First of all, this is a recommendation to remember the tremendous losses of the Armenians 105 years later and combine efforts to create a park that will be called the “Armenian Park”,” he said, adding that the main idea of the “Armenian Park” is a pan-national project.
“If the government and municipality approve of this idea, I will personally raise funds and organize the activities because I believe this will serve as a major contribution in the sense of national unity, special attitude towards our history and public health,” he said.