Armenia honors 1.5 million victims on 111th genocide anniversary amid memorial renovations
Today, 24 April, marks the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As every year, thousands of people are walking since the morning to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex to honour the victims.
The Armenian Genocide refers to the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Killings and mass deportations claimed the lives of around 1.5 million Armenians. Armenia and more than 30 countries, along with a number of international organisations, recognise these events as genocide. Turkey rejects that characterisation.
In recent months, major renovation work has been under way at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, prompting political speculation.
Opposition figures first claimed that the authorities were 'demolishing and dismantling the memorial complex' under the guise of reconstruction. Later, reports confirmed the completion of the first phase of restoration and disproved those claims. The same figures then began spreading new disinformation, saying that public pressure had halted the demolition.
A few days ago, reports emerged claiming that the Armenian government had decided to cancel events marking the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. However, the government never discussed such a move, and it made no such decision.
Fip.am checked the claims. Some Armenian media outlets, public figures and Turkish propaganda platforms promoted false narratives about 'denial and forgetting' of the genocide.
'Open sources, analysis of official information and the actual situation do not confirm conspiracy theories either about cancelling commemorative events or about the reconstruction of the memorial complex,' Fip.am said.
For some time, Armenian media and social networks have been discussing construction work at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. Given the sensitivity of the issue, certain actors have circulated false and manipulative claims.
Fip.am highlighted several examples:
- Reports on TV channels Armenia TV and 5th Channel Armenia raised the question: 'Are authorities dismantling the memorial or restoring it?'
- Some politicians claimed that authorities were demolishing the memorial under the guise of renovation at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As a striking example, Fip.am cites a statement by Davit Ananyan, a member of the 'Wings of Unity' party and former head of the State Revenue Committee:
'One of Turkey's long-standing demands is to erase the topic of the genocide. A practical step in that direction could be the dismantling of Tsitsernakaberd. Photos of construction work could be presented to Erdogan as a political report, while domestically they would be framed as 'renovation works'.'
Another claim came from Armenak Danielyan, a member of the 'Mother Armenia' faction in Yerevan's city council. He said the authorities would not complete the works so that people could not visit the memorial on 24 April. His comments appeared in a report by Second Armenian TV Channel.
Turkish journalist Okay Deprem claimed that the Armenian government had ordered the cancellation of genocide commemoration events and planned to rewrite history textbooks.
Fip.am journalists found that the author lives in Luhansk and promotes pro-Russian propaganda, but promotes himself as an independent commentator.
Renovation work is under way not only at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, but also at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The project will proceed in several phases and is due for completion in 2028.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia is coordinating the work. Minister Zhanna Andreasyan visits the site regularly to monitor progress. On 18 April, she visited Tsitsernakaberd together with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
'The work at this stage has been completed. The memorial complex is fully ready for 24 April and the upcoming commemorative events,' the prime minister said after the inspection.
Andreasyan said that during the first phase of the large-scale restoration:
- Workers repaired the columns of the Temple of Eternity,
- engineers installed a new drainage system to prevent damage to the pylons,
- specialists applied waterproofing to the columns and the foundations of the memorial wall,
- builders built a new pedestrian walkway along the memorial wall.
She stressed that specialists review every step of the process:
'Experts inspect every single stone without exception, confirming whether it can be used in the structure.'
Andreasyan added that work will continue after the 24 April commemorations:
'Given the expected large number of visitors on 24 April, we are organising the work so that at each stage, every year, it is completed ahead of the ceremonies.'
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