Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Federal Court rejects opposition to Armenia genocide memorial

streetlamp in park in geneva
The "streetlights of memory" were designed by artist Mélik Ohanian. Keystone

Switzerland’s highest court has rejected the opposition raised by several Genevans to a recently-unveiled monument commemorating the Armenian genocide in the city.

The decision published by the Federal Court on Monday rejected claims by residents that the monument would lead to the area becoming a site of demonstrations, or even conflict between members of the Armenian and Turkish communities.

“Residents can appeal when they are definitely, or at least with sufficient probability, affected by the repercussions of such a decision,” the court wrote. This was not the case for the monument in Parc Tremblay, Geneva.

The decision should bring to an end the long saga of the monument, which was unveiled in April 2018 after a decade of debates and delay.

Not only was it tricky to find an appropriate location for the genocide memorial – initially approved in 2008 – but opposition from Turkey also made the monument a diplomatic headache into which the federal government was forced to wade.

“Les Réverbères de la Mémoire” [Streetlights of memory],External link designed by French artist Melik OhanianExternal link, is a collection of nine street lamps, each ten metres tall and featuring lamps in the form of teardrops, commemorating the 1915-1917 Armenian genocide, which is still disputed by Turkey.

The genocide was recognized by the parliament of Geneva in 2001 and by the Swiss federal parliament in 2003.


More

News

Two Rothornbahn gondolas cross each other on Lenzerheide on Friday, April 3, 2009.

More

Swiss cable car activity rose in winter 2023-2024

This content was published on In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.

Read more: Swiss cable car activity rose in winter 2023-2024
flooding Rhine

More

Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria

This content was published on As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.

Read more: Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR