 of diasporan organizations as visiting there is deemed as a sign of recognition.
One of the most symbolic visits to the memorial was Pope John Paul II’s arrival on September 25, 2001.
The visit symbolized the 1,700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Armenia. The day after he met with then-president Robert Kocharyan he visited the memorial where he a laid a wreath, made a short speech and read a prayer.
He used the Armenian term for genocide “Mets yeghern” (Մեծ Եղեռն). This caused a controversy regarding whether or not he recognized it as a genocide.
The former First Lady of the US and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Yerevan on July 4, 2010.
She became the highest-ranked US official to visit the country. Since the US has not recognized the Armenian Genocide, her visit became a matter of discussion in the Armenian media. She laid the wreath at the memorial that said “From Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton”. This was a clear political message sent to Turkey by the US.
Famous Visitors of the Armenian Genocide Memorial
Among celebrity visitors are:
- John Malkovich
- George Clooney
- Charles Aznavour
- Alexis Ohanian
- Kim Kardashian
- Khloe Kardashian
- Alain Delon
- Serj Tankian
- Tony Iommi
- Ian Gillan
- Montserrat Caballe
- Kanye West
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Hrant Dink
- Paulo Coelho
- Gerard Depardieu
- Conan O’Brien
- Ronda Rousey
- Charlie Armstrong
- Pope Francis
- Arthur Abraham
- Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester
- Vladimir Putin
- Sergey Lavrov
- Dmitry Medvedev
Among countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide, there have been people who have refused to visit the memorial.
While attending a football match in Armenia between the Armenian and Turkish national teams in Yerevan in September 2008, former Turkish President Abdullah Gul did not visit the memorial. He refused to do so as the Turkish government denies the fact of genocide.
Among other presidents who refused to visit were President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad and former President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This move was done in order not to compromise their relationship with the Republic of Turkey.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also refused to visit the memorial. He asked to have his decision respected.
Presidents that Recognize the Armenian Genocide
Presidents from countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide are:
- Carlos Menem (Argentina)
- Emil Constantinescu (Romania)
- Petar Stefanov Stoyanov (Bulgaria)
- Konstantinos “Kostis” Stephanopoulos (Greece)
- Émile Jamil Lahoud (Lebanon)
- Ion Iliescu (Romania)
- Eduard Ambrosiyevich Shevardnadze (Georgia)
- Aleksander Kwaśniewski (Poland)
- Askar Akayevich Akayev (Kyrgyzstan)
- Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Ukraine)
- Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Russia)
- Rolandas Paksas (Lithuania)
- Mohammad Khatami (Iran)
- Arnold Rüütel (Estonia)
- Tarja Kaarina Halonen (Finland)
- Traian Băsescu (Romania)
- Jacques René Chirac (France)
- Stjepan “Stipe” Mesić (Croatia)
- Mikheil Saakashvili (Goergia)
- Demetris Christofias (Cyprus)
- Boris Tadić (Serbia)
- Valdis Zatlers (Latvia)
- Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Russia)
- Danilo Türk (Slovenia)
- Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey (Switzerland)
- Dalia Grybauskaitė (Lithuania)
- Nicolas Sarkozy (France)
- Bronisław Maria Komorowski (Poland)
- Michel Sleiman (Lebanon)
- Heinz Fischer (Austria)
- Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko (Belarus)
- Karolos Papoulias (Greece)
- Giorgi Margvelashvili (Georgia)
- Didier Burkhalter (Swiss Confederation)
- Nicos Anastasiades (Greece)
- Tomislav Nikolić (Serbia)
- François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (France)
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russia)
- Miloš Zeman (Czech Republic)
- Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan)
- Rumen Georgiev Radev (Bulgaria)
- Michel Naim Aoun (Lebanon)
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