Hay Park – an all-Armenian park of solidarity and remembrance on the territory of Tsitsernakaberd

President Armen Sarkissian recently spoke of his idea to establish a “Hay Park” on the territory of Tsitsernakaberd.

The President said that parks and gardens of Yerevan are its “lungs” and to be able to provide a healthy lifestyle for our public, we have to have parks, “healthy public lungs.”
In this context, President Sarkissian presented his idea of creating a “Hay Park” all-Armenian park. It will begin on the territory of Tsitsernakaberd and stretch for approximately 103 hectares.

Elaborating on the details of the park creation, the President said, “The concept is the following: the first sector of the park will comprise segments representing regions of our historical homeland – Van, Erzerum, etc. The second sector will represent Armenian communities all over the world – Marseille, New York, Moscow, Novosibirsk, and so on. And the third sector will be dedicated to the current regions of our Fatherland, towns and structures, for instance, the University of Gyumri or Yerevan State University. This division is symbolic; the entire territory is split into different parts and trees are planted all around. It will be great if the total number of the trees comes close to 1,5 million – one for each victim. This park will relate about our historic losses, and, at the same time, will tell about the contemporary Armenian world, Armenian statehood, Armenia and Artsakh. By dividing the park into sectors and assigning names to each sector, we can also encourage our compatriots, let’s say, those descending from Van, to adopt the part of the Park named Van and take good care of it. It will become an all-Armenian park, Hay Park.”

He noted that he once discussed this idea with one of Europe’s best known landscape designer companies and the company even put the idea on paper. “This is a proposal to remind 105 years later of our huge losses - human, historical, and cultural. On the other hand, working all together, in solidarity we will create a park which will carry our name – the Hay Park. We will show the world that we’ve learned the lessons of this calamity and will give Yerevan the gift of “new lungs” so that the residents of Yerevan live in better conditions,” President Sarkissian said. In his words, the main idea of the Hay Park is to make it an all-Armenian project.

In the President’s words, “This will be a very important investment in many ways. It will promote national unity, manifest our special attitude toward our history, will promote public health, and in every other way.”