YEREVAN, 16 MARCH, ARMENPRESS: Various Norwegian politicians have condemned Norwegian government's decision, because the government will be presented at the level of ambassador during the Armenian Genocide commemoration events. As “Armenpress” reports citing the Norwegian vg.no website, that the official Oslo has decided that the Ambassador of Norway to Armenia Atle Leidulv Namtvedt (resident in Moscow), will only participate in the events of April 24 to be held in Armenia.

"This is one of the greatest tragedies of history, regardless of calling it genocide or not. Norway would take more effective step than sending an ambassador.  Any step by the Government of Norway is lowdown and fraudulent act,” the Norwegian writer, scientist, Istanbul Oygene Shulgin noted reflecting on this fact.

Norwegian journalist Ian Oto Johansen has called odd the decision not to send a senior official to Armenia, who recently authored a book about the Armenian genocide. He is convinced that what happened to the Armenians was the first genocide in modern human history. “Those who are pedantic and believe that it is not appropriate to apply the term of "genocide" in the issue of Armenians, Jews and Gypsies, they have not understood what this means. This is an attempt to fool the Norwegian public opinion by their meticulous, but the reality is that beneath this treatment there are Turkey's economic interests," Johansen noted, who also has not excluded the effect of relations with Azerbaijan, which considered to be enemy of Armenia.

Similar opinion was expressed by the Norwegian historian Bard Larsen about the decision. He has called the incident a political game, where any party pursues his interest. Larsen is more than sure that Norway by its steps distorts the true story.  "If we follow the logic of this government, then the Holocaust also was not a genocide,” he emphasized.

In response of the question of the Norwegian news agency, Norwegian State Secretary Bård Glad Pedersen has noted that it is normal that only the Ambassador will participate in the commemorative events, which will be launched in Yerevan. He does not deny that mass massacre was carried out against the Armenians in 1915, but the incident did not called "genocide".