Armenian Genocide Sculpture in Copenhagen Delayed

COPENHAGEN — A sculpture commemorating the centennial of the Armenian Genocide was supposed to have been unveiled in Copenhagen this coming weekend but resistance to the project has delayed its debut by months, the Local reports.

The busy Copenhagen square Kultorvet was scheduled to see the installation of a nine-metre high sculpture entitled ‘The Draem’ (Danish Remembrance Armenian Empathy Messenger) on May 23, but the fear of vandalism and even violence has delayed the sculpture’s debut until September, Politiken reported on May 18.

The sculpture was supposed to be placed in Kultorvet for ten days to mark 100 years since upwards of 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman regime. The announcement of the project last month was met by an official protest from the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen, which called the sculpture “morally indefensible”.

Fears that the sculpture could lead to violent resistance have led Armenia’s ambassador to Denmark to push its debut back to September. “As you know, ‘The Draem’ has, despite being designed as a marking of peace promotion, unleashed an anger that could possibly give rise to violence,” Ambassador Hrachya Aghajanian wrote to Copenhagen Deputy Mayor Carl Christian Ebbesen, according to Politiken.

Aghajaniyan told the newspaper that from an insurance standpoint, the project is now considered ‘high risk’ and meeting the requirements to properly insure the work have become more complicated than originally anticipated.

Ebbesen said he was disappointed by the delay.

“I am deeply offended as a politician and a member of the Danish People’s Party by the fact that one cannot express their opinions in Denmark. I think we should take that very seriously. We must not bow down,” he told Politiken.