Opposition MP Gegham Manukyan has accused the Armenian leaders of “secretly commemorating" the Armenian Genocide in line with preconditions put forward by Turkey.
In a social media post on Saturday, the MP said on December 9 designated by the UN as International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan and Secretary General Boris Sahakyan visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex to pay tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry did not report the visit, refrained from using the words “Armenian Genocide” and “Tsitsernakaberd”, as well as made no mention of the genocide perpetrator, Ottoman Turkey, it its December 9 statement.
"Back in 2022, I warned that the term "Armenian Genocide" was being smoothly removed from official discourse. Now they are even trying to keep quiet about our diplomatic achievements so as not to anger Ankara," stated Manukyan, who represents the opposition Hayastan faction.
“It’s worth noting that after the launch of talks between [Armenian and Turkish envoys] Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilic and assurances about the absence of preconditions, the opposition argued that the Armenian authorities were going to make concessions although no preconditions were in place. It’s best evidenced by the secret “commemoration” on December 9,” the MP added.
