For the first time in decades, Armenia’s Public Television (H1) will cut its live broadcast from the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex on April 24 at 13:00, ending coverage hours earlier than its traditional near-continuous programming.
Every year on April 24, hundreds of thousands of Armenians visit the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex to honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide. Since the early morning hours, the steady flow of citizens, clergy, political and military figures, and senior state officials laying flowers at the memorial has been broadcast live by the national broadcaster, often continuing late into the night.
From H1’s program schedule, it becomes clear that this year’s live signal will only be maintained until early afternoon, marking a significant departure from longstanding practice.
The move comes amid broader criticism of the current government’s approach to issues of national memory and the Armenian Genocide. Nikol Pashinyan and other representatives of the executive and legislative branches have repeatedly indicated that international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is no longer considered a priority of Armenia’s foreign policy.
The issue has also sparked controversy in parliament. Andranik Kocharyan, a ruling Civil Contract MP and chair of the National Assembly’s Defense and Security Committee, previously questioned the focus on documenting the exact number of victims, stating: “Shouldn’t we know whether it was 1.5 million victims, or more or less? Shouldn’t we know their names?”
The decision to shorten the broadcast has drawn attention as a symbolic shift in how April 24 is marked at the state level, breaking with a decades-long tradition of extensive national coverage.
