French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday sent a letter to Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The letter reads as follows, in particular:
Today, April 24, France commemorates the 108th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. France remembers the men, women and children who were killed, died of starvation or exhaustion on the deportation roads. Together with you, France remembers its sailors who came to the aid of the Armenian resistance fighters on Musa Dagh in September 1915. France, which condemned the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire with the voices of Georges Clemenceau, Anatole France and Jean Jaures, stands with you today to protect the memory of the victims, to fight against denial, and to learn serious lessons from the page of that tragic history.
Even today, as the European continent mourns because of the terrible aggression, France continues its struggle for memory and against oblivion. In 2022, during the French chairmanship at the Council of the European Union, we completed the draft law on digital services so that the genocide would no longer be denied with impunity. France shows constant vigilance in the territory of its country. In 2019, I set a commemoration day of the Armenian Genocide in the [French] republic's calendar, as I want every French person to remember that day. This struggle for justice and historical truth belongs to Armenians, but also to all of France because respect for human rights is at the core of the brotherhood of the Republic of France.
The commemoration of the [Armenian] Genocide also reminds of the place occupied by Armenians in our history, as many survivors of this tragedy joined our country, contributing to its prosperity and strengthening its influence.
On this commemoration day, which also symbolizes the rebirth of the Armenian people, I would like to confirm France's support for the democratic reforms taking place in Armenia, as well as for the processes of building peace in the region.
