The state-run broadcaster aired pop singer Tata Simonian’s two-hour-long performance on Sunday as many people across Armenia laid flowers at the graves of the fallen soldiers. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, his political allies and members of his government again did not issue statements or visit the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan on the occasion.
The airing of the concert sparked an uproar on social media from opposition politicians, public figures and ordinary citizens. They accused the Public Television of disrespecting the memory of the war dead.
“I do not know of any other state or ‘elite’ in the world that would treat the memory of the thousands of young guys, who sacrificed their lives for it, in this way,” wrote Karen Harutiunian, the editor of the Civilnet.am news service. “Shame — a thousand shames — on you.”
Some government critics claimed that the concert was aired for the purpose of distracting the public from Pashinian’s mishandling of the disastrous six-week war and preventing a backlash against his current appeasement policy towards Azerbaijan.
Simonian, who has regularly performed at government-sponsored concerts in recent years, added his voice to the criticism. In a late-night Facebook post, the veteran pop star called the timing of his pre-recorded appearance on the Public Television an “unjustifiable gross error” and denied any responsibility for it.
The state TV’s main First Channel aired the concert again early on Monday, shortly after Simonian’s negative reaction. The flow of people to Yerablur continued in the meantime.
“Broadcasting an entertainment concert on the Public Television on September 27 was wrong mistake, and we accept full responsibility for it,” the broadcaster said in a statement about ten hours later.
“We apologize for what happened,” added the broadcaster. “Relevant work procedures are being reviewed to prevent such incidents from happening again.”
