“Everything in Armenia reminds us to honor and respect the Armenian Genocide. I am thinking about all the victims, the women and children, and also about all the people who survived. Armenia is alive and rich today,” said Secretary-General Michaelle Jean during her speech at the 17th Francophonie Summit.
“Armenia is rich through its diaspora, which made Armenia an international nation. Charles Aznavour was an international Armenian, and, Mr. Prime Minister, today the whole world is in Armenia at your invitation- the five continents of the Francophone world are here, and we are so happy to be here. I want to thank you from the names of all participating countries. Everything in Armenia mandates us to honor and to remember. It also mandates us to wake up, since you can’t take anything from history. The UN was built on the platform of two world wars. Organizations, which were able to find solutions through collaborating on several important issues. It’s not always that we’re about to solve problems in the best way. We were also able to form our Francophonie organization on a platform. It was based on the platform of colonialism, and we were able to be reborn through the French language. French became our colleague. French gave us strength, it was able to spread our cultures, and at the same time, protect our dignity. We stand strong in order to overcome the challenges we face today. I have taken the word “tired” out of my vocabulary.”
The summit was summarized by Charles Aznavour’s words, where he expressed the importance of love. “Love, including my family and all others, regardless of their religion and state; the love of humanity simply is.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
