CCAF condemns exclusion of prominent representatives of Armenian  community in France from opening ceremony of Armenian Embassy in  Paris

ArmInfo.  The National Bureau of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) expresses its strong disapproval of the Armenian government's  decision to exclude several prominent figures representing the  Armenian community in France from the opening ceremony of the new  Armenian Embassy in Paris.

The CCAF statement noted that the following were excluded from the  list of participants: CCAF Co-Chairs Ara Toranian and Murad Papazian;  Permanent Representative of the Republic of Artsakh to France  Hovhannes Gevorgyan; and Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian  Apostolic Church in France, Bishop Krikor Khachatryan. "We consider  this decision an unfortunate mistake. It must be called such. It  should be called precisely that. The embassy represents the Armenian  state and, moreover, the entire Armenian people in all their  diversity. It is the common home of the entire nation, a place where  Armenia presents itself in all its fullness, diversity, and dignity,  beyond the confines of momentary disagreements and partisan  calculations. By restricting access for recognized representatives of  the Armenian diaspora in France, the Armenian government creates the  impression of alienation from its mission of unity. These actions  have generated a well-founded misunderstanding," the diaspora  organization's statement continued.

It is also emphasized that the exclusion of Ara Toranian and Murad  Papazian, whose names are inextricably linked with the decades-long  struggle for the memory, recognition, and dignity of the Armenian  people, demonstrates an approach that, in the CCAF's view,  trivializes the importance of the diaspora.

"The CCAF is not a faction: it is one of the main representative  bodies of Armenians in France. The removal of democratically elected  leaders risks alienating a significant portion of the organized  diaspora.  The exclusion of Archbishop Krikor Khachatryan from the  event is fraught with the grave insult to the Armenian Apostolic  Church, a centuries-old institution that has survived massacres,  genocide, and dispersal, and which remains an important spiritual  beacon for our people today. We remind you that since 1995, the  Church has generously provided the embassy with the current  building," the CCAF further noted.

At the same time, it is emphasized that the exclusion of the name of  Artsakh's Permanent Representative Hovhannes Gevorgyan sends a  negative signal regarding the defense of the rights of 120,000  Armenians in the French political arena, expelled from their  ancestral land, forced into exile, and deprived of everything.  "At a  time when the Artsakh issue remains an unhealed wound in Armenian  consciousness worldwide, this gesture takes on particularly serious  resonance. It demands clarification. History will remember that on  the evening of April 27, the day of the opening of its new embassy in  Paris, the Armenian government seemed to prioritize the logic of  exclusion over the spirit of unity, which can only lead to deep  disappointment. This is not how a state is strengthened. We hope that  this situation can be clarified through dialogue," the CCAF  concluded.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry previously reported that Foreign  Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, during his visit to France on April 27-28,  will attend the opening ceremony of the Armenian embassy in Paris.