Vardan Oskanyan barred from participating in a commemoration of the genocide
Vardan Oskanyan released a statement: Months’ ago I received an invitation from the organizational committee on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide of one of the important Armenian communities of Diaspora for making speech at their main event to be held in April. The event will take place at the main temple of that country’s capital, where more than thousand people are expected to be present. It is planned that state officials of that country will make speeches during that event. I agreed with pleasure to take part in the event. Some days ago I got a call from the organizers. They informed that the Embassy of Armenia to that country objected to my participation. The representatives of the community tried to convince the Embassy of the opposite, but finally they didn’t want to oppose and complied with their demand. Here the problem is not my personality. The problem is the failure of this way of thinking and behavior. The Genocide and especially the Centennial events are national issue and isn’t the property of an individual or a group of individuals. Our task, especially this year, is to represent our country in the best way to the foreigners and the international community. Perhaps you will agree that there are few people in Armenia who due to their experience, knowledge and language skills are able to carry out this mission properly. Instead of encouraging so that those people make speeches in different parts of the world during those days, the authorities are even hampering the spontaneous invitation exclusively conditioned with the inner political and personal motives. Let me say that it is absolutely incomprehensible and unacceptable. I feel sorry about this petty behavior. What a display of tolerance!
