New Postage Stamp Dedicated to Missak Manouchian Cancelled

YEREVAN — On May 26th, 2015 Haypost CJSC cancelled and put into circulation a new stamp dedicated to the Armenian poet, French Resistance fighter and a national hero of France Missak Manouchian.

The stamp’s official cancellation ceremony took place at the newly built new technologies development and training center of Haypost CJSC. The cancellation was carried out by French Ambassador to Armenia Jean­Francois Charpentier, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Tadevosian, the Deputy Minister of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affrairs Mr. Karen Nazarian, the Chairman of the Union of Philatelists of Armenia Mr. Hovik Musayelian and “Haypost Trust Management” BV Managing Director Mr. Juan Pablo Gechidjian.

Ambassador Charpentier attached importance to the circulation of the stamp and stressed that Manouchian serves as the best example of a selfdedicated person and citizen.

The postage stamp depicts Missak Manouchian at the background of The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the “Red poster” (l’Affiche Rouge), the Eternal flame and a fragment of a letter addressed to his wife Meline Manouchian.

The “Red poster”, depicting the portrait of Missak Manouchian and his friends, was distributed by the fascist army in order to detect the underground activists.

Missak Manouchian was born in 1906 in the Armenian village Adiyaman of Western Armenia. Losing his parents during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, he found himself in the French orphanage in Syria, where he studied French and got acquainted with the French culture. Moving to France in 1925, he started his activity by uniting the Armenians around him, publishing literary magazines, not being apart from the events taking place in France.

After the occupation of France by the Nazi troops Manouchian founded the International group of French Resistance movement, but he was arrested together with his group 1943 and three months later they were executed.

Manouchian was only 37 years old.