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The international journalists and guests who are in Armenia these days to cover Pope Francis’ visit, have shared their views and impressions with Panorama.am about this historical occasion. 

German historian, author and journalist Michael Hesemann, famous for publishing the book Armenian Genocide based on the archival documents of the Vatican, said that the Pope’s special relationship with Armenia and the Armenian people which started early in Buenos Aires played an important role in this visit.

“He was aware of Genocide, the fate and also the richness of the Armenian Christian culture long before he became a Pope”, – he noted.

“And of course we as a Christian family have to show our solidarity with what is historically the first Christian nation on earth, which embraced Christianity in the first century – 301AD and can look back to 1700 years old, very rich Christian history which preserved a lot of the original heritage of early Christianity”, – he added.  

Stating that the Armenian Genocide as a systematic attempt of the Ottoman state to completely annihilate the Armenian nation is well known and unequivocally documented, he drew attention to the fact that Turkey hasn’t changed till today and that the Genocide issue is not an issue of the past, but is of importance presently because Armenians as well as the Christians of the Middle East are still under threat of extermination.

“The Pope’s visit is important especially in the situation of political crisis when Armenia is suffering both from the intrigues of its Western neighbour Turkey and from violent military attacks from Eastern neighbour Azerbaijan, which even had home coming members of the ISIS involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, importing the brutality of the Islamic State into the Caucasian region. This is a very urgent step to show the solidarity with Armenia, which already suffered not only the most violent persecution of Christians in history but also the mother of all genocides… It is important to make Turkey recognize the Genocide because we are facing a threat of repetition of such events – the Armenians and generally the Christians of the Middle East are experiencing such terrible crimes today”, – noted the historian.   

Dr. Hesemann believes that the international community should have a much harsher stance on Turkey and completely isolate it until Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide and pays a price for that crime.

(The complete interview with Dr. Hesseman will be published soon)

Sebastien Maillard, journalist at French Catholic daily newspaper La Croix who has covered all the international trips of the Pope, referring to the Pope’s visit to Armenia as pilgrimage with the motto “Visit to first Christian nation”, said, “It is important that the Pope highlights that Christianity is a part of the Armenian identity; you have lived up to it through the sufferings of your history; it also brings you national cohesion and can help to overcome the tension in the region. The Pope wants your Christian identity to be something to hold on to and make you strong [at the same time not excluding others].

Noting that this is the 14^th international visit of the Pope since the beginning of his pontificate, Mr. Maillard said that because Armenia is a Christian country (although not a Catholic country) Pope Francis feels “very much at home here”.

Speaking about the Armenian Genocide issue in the framework of His Holiness’ visit, Mr. Maillard said that it has a “huge weight and importance”.

“The Pope used the word Genocide, which was not expected. We were briefed before reading that he would probably not say it again because he had already said it… Also, going to the Genocide Memorial was a huge moment. The other very important moment of this visit will be the releasing of the two doves towards the Mount Ararat and towards Turkey”, – noted the journalist.    

Sebastien Maillard, who was visiting Armenia for the first time said that “Armenia is a very welcoming country”.

Nicole Greenfield from American AP (Associated Press) also highlighted the fact that Pope Francis has had a very strong relationship with the Armenian community going back to the time when he was a Bishop in Argentina, which made this visit notable.

“He really wanted to make this trip; he made it clear on two occasions that he wanted to publicly say that the massacres of 1915 were Genocide. I think for him it was very important that he said that in Armenia”, – she noted.

Ms. Greenfield, who personally covered the story last year when the Pope made his statement recognizing the Armenian Genocide in St. Peter's Basilica, noted that this is a sensitive issue, given Turkey’s reaction. “There is a very strong diplomatic component to that kind of a declaration; it is also an important story to report because it could have reverberations on the world stage outside of Armenia”, – she said.    

The journalists were pleased with the way the event was organized and with the working conditions provided in Armenia.