Various Norwegian figures have criticized the Norwegian government’s position on sending an ambassador to represent Norway at the Armenian Genocide commemoration ceremonies in Yerevan. As “Armenpress” reports, citing vg.no, Oslo has decided that only Norway’s Ambassador to Armenia Leidulv Atle Namtvedt (residence in Moscow) will participate in the April 24^th events in Yerevan, writes Armenpress.am.

“This is one of the greatest tragedies in history, regardless of whether it is referred to as genocide or not. Norway has to do something more than just sending an ambassador. Any other action from the Norwegian government will be sordid and dishonest,” Istanbul-based Norwegian writer and scholar Oigene Schulgin mentioned in relation to the Norwegian government’s position.

Norwegian journalist Jan Otto Johansen, who recently released a book devoted to the Armenian Genocide, also referred to the Norwegian government’s decision to not send a high-ranking official to Armenia as strange. He is certain that what happened to the Armenians was the first genocide in the modern history of mankind. “Those who are meticulous and think it’s inappropriate to use the term “genocide” to describe what happened to the Armenians, the Jews or the gypsies, haven’t understand what this is all about.

This is an attempt to make a fool of the public with their pedantry, but the reality is that the reason why the government is expressing this position is because it shares economic interests with Turkey,” Johansen mentioned, without ruling out the impact of the relations with Azerbaijan, which is considered Armenia’s enemy.

Norwegian historian Bard Larsen has also gone against the government’s position, calling it a big political game in which all sides pursue their interests. Larsen says he’s deeply convinced that Norway is distorting the real history. “If we follow the government’s logic, then the Holocaust also wasn’t genocide,” he stated.

In response to a question from one of Norway’s presses, Norway’s State Secretary Bard Glad Peterson mentioned that he thought it was normal to have only an ambassador participate in the commemoration events to be held in Yerevan. He didn’t deny the mass killings of Armenians in 1915, but fell short of referring to the events as “genocide”. When asked why Norway doesn’t refer to the events by using the corresponding term, Peterson said “the government believes it’s wrong to apply the decision adopted by the 1948 UN Convention to events that took place before 1948”.