The prestigious French periodical “Le Journal du Dimanche” has published The open letter of Mikael Minasyan, the former ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See: addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron. It is noteworthy that the letter was also officially delivered to the Elysée Palace.

We present the Armenian translation of the message addressed to President Macron, where Minasyan spoke in detail about the problems of Artsakh Armenians, the persecutions and repressions against the Church.

Applying: Mikael Minasyan wrote to the President of France. “A few days ago, you were hosted in my homeland, Armenia, where you were welcomed with the warmth characteristic of the Armenian people. The friendship between France and Armenia has centuries of history and deep roots in values, but let me state a simple truth. just as Armenia is not Nikol Pashinyan, France is not you.

Your visit was not a mission to support the allied people, but an open and harsh political propaganda in favor of Nikol Pashinyan, just one month before the elections. Your obsession with courting the current government was so insurmountable that you even resorted to lying, claiming that there were no similar visits to Armenia until 2018. Meanwhile, all three presidents before you have been on official visits to our country, receiving the greatest respect from the people and an equally warm reception.

During this visit, you chose to see only the “Nikol” side of Armenia. You avoided listening to the voice of those Armenians who do not forgive and do not forget how 2022 On October 6 in Prague, under your direct auspices, Nikol Pashinyan recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. Many of the authors of that black page of history have already left the political stage, just like you and your protégé will leave one day. However, the 120,000 Artsakh Armenians and their descendants will remain, who suffered under siege for 8 months and died of hunger as a result of your “peace agenda”, and in 2023. in September, subjected to ethnic cleansing and military aggression, they were forcibly displaced from their thousand-year-old homeland, in the conditions of silence and inaction of you, your sponsor and colleagues.

Today you make loud statements about Pashinyan’s “courage”. If handing over one’s homeland and people to the enemy is bravery for you, then for us it is national betrayal. But you did not meet those Armenians.

You did not see the Artsakh Armenians being dragged and subjected to brutal force on the streets of Yerevan, because the police barriers kept them away from your eyes. You visited the Genocide Memorial, but you didn’t know that the director of the Genocide Museum, a distinguished scientist, was recently fired by Nicole for daring to present a book about Artsakh to the US Vice President.

You visited the country that was the first to adopt Christianity, but you despised the Catholicos of All Armenians, who for a long time has been exposed to open persecution for not denying Artsakh and protecting the Armenian spiritual heritage. The persecutions unleashed against the Armenian Apostolic Church are not limited to the campaign against the Holy Father. Today, four reverends of the Church in Armenia are in prison, exclusively on fabricated and politically motivated charges. Moreover, the movement of the Catholicos of All Armenians out of the country is actually prohibited, and his family members have become political hostages, appearing behind bars.

You visited Gyumri, but they did not tell you that the leader of that diocese, Mikael Srbazan, spent almost a year in prison for free speech and remaining unfaithful to the truth, and now he is under house arrest. During your visit, the believers of Gyumri, who were trying to convey their voice to you, were forbidden by the police force to even approach your convoy.

Today, Armenia is buried in total repression. the presence of political prisoners, the forced silencing of free speech and the collapse of democratic institutions are even recorded in authoritative international reports. Pashinyan does not hesitate to persecute the authoritative figures of the Diaspora, some of whom, by the way, were part of your delegation. You cannot be ignorant of all this.

The Armenians, whom you never met, are sure that history will still give its harsh assessment to the “courage” that you so diligently praise.

They are also happy that just as Armenia is not Nikol Pashinyan, France is not you.”

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