Many did not want to object to PM out of politeness – Sarkis Shahinian

On January 24, at a meeting with the Armenian community in Zurich, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for a reexamination of what happened during the Armenian Genocide, why it happened and how it was perceived, why the issue of the Armenian Genocide was not part of the agenda in 1939, but appeared on the agenda in 1950. Today, the Council of Swiss Armenian and Armenophile Associations (CAAS) issued a statement calling on Pashinyan to clarify his remarks.

Alpha News spoke to Sarkis Shahinian, Secretary General of the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, on the topic.

“The reaction of Council of Swiss Armenian and Armenophile Associations was quite prompt, as we should not forget that we are a council and act in coordination with all organizations. There were people present at the meeting with Nikol Pashinyan who agreed to disseminate such a statement. People didn’t believe what they heard, but maybe just out of politeness, maybe out of power imbalance, maybe out of lack of courage or lack of knowledge, they didn’t object to him. But the fact that his words caused bewilderment is clear from our statement, which was made to break this silence,” Shahinian said.

Speaking about the consequences and damage of Pashinyan’s statement, he stressed that it could undermine the effect of universalizing the recognition of the Genocide committed against Armenians.

“With this statement, he allows our adversary to quote his words and say, look, it is your prime minister who is questioning the reality of the Armenian Genocide. This could also affect the course of international recognition, as Pashinyan’s statement obliges scholars to question their research. We are looking forward to the prime minister’s reaction to understand what prompted him to make this statement,” Sarkis Shahinian said.