Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan today, in a statement marking the 109^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, referred to the “trauma of the Armenian Genocide” to bolster his recent polemic criticizing certain Armenians for living in the past and clinging to the notion of a “lost homeland”.

Pashinyan, earlier this month, called on Armenians to clearly understand the difference between today’s Republic of Armenia and the abstract conception of historic Armenia.

His assertion that the perception of historical Armenia and the real Armenian of today are not compatible and lead to “serious threats” for the Republic of Armenia was strongly criticized by some in Armenia.

Pashinyan today claimed Armenians perceive the world around them burdened by the grief and trauma they’ve inherited from the Metz Yeghern (Great Calamity).

“This means that, being an internationally recognized state, we often relate and compete with other countries and the international community in a state of mental trauma, and for this reason, sometimes we cannot correctly distinguish the realities and factors, historical processes and projected horizons,” Pashinyan said today.

He said the time has come for Armenians to stop searching for a lost homeland “because we have found that homeland, our Promised Land, where milk and honey flow.”  

“We must relate the perception of the Metz Yeghern with the vital interests of the Republic of Armenia, our national statehood,” Pashinyan urged Armenians.

He expressed the hope that the “martyrs of Metz Yeghern and all our other martyrs may be consoled in their permanent sleep in the Republic of Armenia.”