We are disappointed that the government of Armenia has refused entry to the homeland to Mourad Papazian, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau and co-chair of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF).
Papazian was summarily escorted back to the departure area and declared a “persona non grata” in Armenia, upon arriving in Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport on Thursday.
The fact that Papazian also was not afforded his right to speak for himself—self-defense—calls into question the Armenian authorities’ commitment to democracy and rule of law, and gravely jeopardizes Armenia’s stature within the international community as it seeks a closer alliance with the European Union, of which France is a member.
This action by the government harkens back to the dark days of Armenia’s post-Soviet independence, when the authorities of the time had published a black list of Armenians who were banned from entering their homeland. Fortunately, that practice was abandoned with the downfall of that regime.
For decades, Armenians have fought for—and dreamt of—an independent republic of Armenia to call their own. Banning any Armenian entry into the homeland goes counter to the most basic tenets of an independent and sovereign state.
We condemn the Armenian authorities refusal of any Armenian’s right to entry into Armenia.
