“It is a gross intervention in Armenia's internal affairs”: Ruling party MP on Lemkin Institute

Ruling party MP Arusyak Julhakyan considers the Lemkin Institute's statement regarding the Prime Minister's April 24 message to be unacceptable. "It is a gross intervention in the internal affairs of the Republic of Armenia, in its internal political life," she said in an interview with Azatutyun.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has criticized the Armenian Prime Minister for his message. Experts from the organization have asserted that Nikol Pashinyan has implicitly joined the denial of the Armenian Genocide in his one-and-a-half-page statement.

“The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and, in general, any official has not uttered a single word that questions the Genocide. In my impression, such arbitrary interpretations generated in the offices of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation concerning the Prime Minister's statements and evaluative judgments directed at Armenia's foreign policy exceed the authority and mandate of a scientific research institute,” emphasized the Civil Contract party MP.

Arusyak Julhakyan expressed hope that the institute will stay clear of participating in Armenia's "internal political discourse and will engage in its statutory purposes—preventing genocides."

“On April 24, the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Prime Minister of Armenia issued an official statement of commemoration, which seemed to place blame on the victims, intending to cast doubt on Turkey and Azerbaijan's responsibility for the genocide,” the NGO statement, operating in the U.S., said.

In addressing the genocide in his message on April 24, the Prime Minister spoke about geopolitical intrigues. However, he did not mention the guilt of Ottoman Turkey or the current denialist policies of Turkey.