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“One should first know the historical reality and facts and then assume the posture of a claimant,” Donara Ghazaryan, Head of the Department of Romance Languages, said during an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide arranged within the framework of the International Francophonie Days in Armenia.
She emphasized the importance of the event saying it would deepen knowledge about the historical fact ‘that has been distorted for at least 100 years’ and would allow us to say and declare to the world, “We remember and demand justice!”.
Graduate students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages presented excerpts from the book by historian and journalist Marat Kharazian “From Illusion to Tragedy: France and the Armenian Cause” (De l'illusion à la tragédie. La France et la Question Arménienne). In their report, they shed light on this little-known chapter in history and the bloody consequences of the Berlin Congress.
Srbuhi Gevorgyan, ASPU Vice-Rector for Educational and Scientific Affairs, also highlighted the initiative and said it armed the attendees with new knowledge about the Genocide and enabled them to assess the heinous crime on the threshold of its centenary commemoration.
“It is today’s youth who, as the followers of our nation, should give a legal assessment and demand recognition of the crime committed 100 years ago. The work of the previous generation is left unfinished: we do not have a full assessment given by the international community to the crime against an entire nation,” she said.
Tigran Mikaelyan, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, said, in turn, ‘It seems we know everything about the historical fact but in reality we do not know many details. Similar initiatives systematize our knowledge and educate us on historical facts. Nowadays it is important that future educators transfer from an emotional field to a scientific level and ask pragmatic questions.”
Mr Mikaelyan added that within the framework of the events commemorating the centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Faculty is going to initiate a series of discussions on foreign-language publications.
The event was attended by lecturers, students and representatives of Francophone culture.
Talking to old.aspu.am, Alice Léna, the attaché for technical and scientific cooperation at the French Embassy in Armenia, expressed her admiration for the students’ excellent knowledge of French. “Interpretation of historical facts in a scientific way will allow the students to introduce themselves and their history in a proper way: this is a small contribution to the efforts of making your voice audible around the world,” she said.
