‘You visited the first Christian nation, yet ignored the Catholicos of All Arm

The prestigious French periodical Le Journal du Dimanche has published an open letter from the former Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See, Mikayel Minasyan, addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron. Notably, the letter has also been officially delivered to the Élysée Palace.

Tert.am presents the Armenian translation of the message addressed to President Macron, in which Minasyan details the issues facing the Armenians of Artsakh, as well as the persecutions and repressions carried out against the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Addressing the President of France, Mikayel Minasyan wrote:

“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 shared values; however, allow me to state a simple truth: just as Armenia is not Nikol Pashinyan, France is not you.

Your visit was not a mission to support an allied people, but rather overt and harsh political propaganda in favor of Nikol Pashinyan, just one month before the elections. Your obsession with flattering the incumbent authorities was so overwhelming that you even resorted to falsehoods, claiming that no such visits to Armenia had occurred prior to 2018. Meanwhile, all three of your predecessors paid official visits to our country, earning the utmost respect of the people and an equally warm reception.

During this visit, you chose to see only the ‘Nikol-aligned’ side of Armenia. You avoided hearing the voices of those Armenians who do not forgive and do not forget how, on October 6, 2022, 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, as you and your protégé will one day. However, what remains are the 120,000 Armenians of Artsakh and their descendants, who, as a result of your ‘peace agenda,’ suffered under blockade for eight months, faced starvation, and in September 2023, were forcibly displaced from their millennial homeland following ethnic cleansing and military aggression—all amid the silence and inaction of you, your protégé, and your colleagues.

Today, you make loud statements about Pashinyan’s ‘courage.’ If surrendering one’s own homeland and people to the enemy is courage to you, then to us, it is national treason. But you did not meet those Armenians.

You did not see the Artsakh Armenians being manhandled and subjected to brutal force on the streets of Yerevan because police cordons kept them far from your sight. You visited the Genocide Memorial, yet you never learned that the director of the Genocide Museum—a distinguished scholar—was recently dismissed by Nikol simply for daring to present a book about Artsakh to the Vice President of the United States.

You visited the first country to adopt Christianity, yet you ignored the Catholicos of All Armenians, who has long been subjected to open persecution for refusing to renounce Artsakh and for defending Armenian spiritual heritage. The persecution unleashed against the Armenian Apostolic Church is not limited to the campaign against the Supreme Patriarch. Today in Armenia, four bishops and high-ranking clergy of the Church remain in custody, held solely on fabricated and politically motivated charges. Furthermore, the movements of the Catholicos of All Armenians are effectively restricted within the country, and members of his family have become political hostages, ending up behind bars.

You visited Gyumri, but you were not told that the leader of that diocese, Archbishop Mikayel, spent about a year in prison for his commitment to free speech and the truth, and is currently under house arrest. During your visit, the faithful of Gyumri, who attempted to raise their voices to you, were barred by brutal police force from even approaching your motorcade.

Armenia today is submerged in total repression. The existence of political prisoners, the violent silencing of free speech, and the collapse of democratic institutions are documented even in the reports of reputable international organizations. Pashinyan does not shy away from persecuting prominent figures of the Diaspora—some of whom, incidentally, were part of your own delegation. You cannot be unaware of all this.

The Armenians you failed to meet are certain: history will yet deliver its harsh verdict on the ‘courage’ you so diligently praise.

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