This morning we went to pay our respect to the Genocide victims at the Dzizernagapert monument. There were thousands of Armenians, but also hundreds of Iranians, Germans, French, Americans, British and Indians that were respectful enough to take the time and lay a flower at the eternal flame. Thank you.
I’d also like to mention the well disciplined and organized manner in which the entire visit was run. There were military police and regular police lined up all along the path leading to the flame. There were ambulances in several locations. The masses were asked to halt at several intervals not to crowd the flame. There was soft music, flowers and respectful people. Last year I was disappointed by the lack of respect of the people that were visiting. They were eating chips and semoushka (seeds). This year, most of them were well groomed and all had a flower in their hand. Even those who couldn’t afford one received free flowers donated by Prapion at the foot of the slope leading to the monument. After the we laid the flowers and walked down the hill, we were surprised to see free public transportation VERY well organized to transport the visitors from the site to several destinations... Bravo to the authorities who had thought of this!
Earlier on, I had seen Kocharyan and Vehapar on TV praying in front of the flame.
There were over a million people who visited throughout the day. There were no political clashes as some had predicted and warned. SO – PLEASE STOP – stop spreading awful rumors in the Diaspora that there is a “revolution” happening. ALL my friends and family are worried needlessly that their grandchildren are in grave danger here. They have heard from Armenians from Armenia who had moved to Montreal a while back that there have been many tortured killings and people being beaten up on the streets EVERY DAY!!! That just isn’t the case. Let’s STOP this senseless sensationalism. Several thousands seniors mostly bused in from the villages does NOT constitute grounds for a REVOLUTION.