2023-06-19 09:03:15
Portrait of Missak Manouchian (1906-1944), poet, journalist, trade unionist, Armenian resistance fighter, in soldier’s uniform, on leave. MANOUCHIAN/ROGER-VIOLLET ARCHIVES
Emmanuel Macron was there “extremely favorable” and the decision was made, according to the Elysée, a long time ago. All that remained was to make it official. Sunday June 18, a few hours before the Head of State arrives at Mont-Valérien, in the Hauts-de-Seine, to commemorate the appeal of June 18, the presidential palace announced that Missak Manouchian would make his entrance to the Pantheon, allowing the first foreign and communist resistance fighter to enter the republican temple. “Missak Manouchian chose France twice, by his will as a young Armenian man in love with Baudelaire and Victor Hugo, then by his blood shed for our country”explains the Elysée, welcoming the“quiet heroism” of the resistant.
The ceremony will be held on February 21, 2024, the 80th anniversary of the death of the hero of the Resistance, shot by the German army on the hill of Mont-Valérien, alongside 24 other resistance fighters, including 21 members, like him. , Francs-tireurs and supporters of immigrant labor (FTP-MOI). His ashes will be transferred to the Pantheon, along with those of his wife, Mélinée. A commemorative plaque will symbolize, alongside them, the entry into the mausoleum of the great men of all FTP-MOI.
“It’s a great story for him, for Mélinée and for all his brothers in arms. It is a symbol to see the foreigners and stateless people who fought for the Liberation finally being recognized”, is moved Katia Guiragossian, little niece of Missak Manouchian, custodian of the family archives, who has defended since 2014, and more actively since 2021, entry into the crypt of her grandfather. And this one to recall the words that her great-uncle held to his accusers at the time of the trial of his resistance group, in February 1944, in Paris: “You inherited French nationality, we deserved it. »
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“In a few hours, I will no longer be of this world. We are going to be shot this afternoon at 3 p.m. It happens to me like an accident in my lifewrote Missak Manouchian in a missive addressed to his wife. I’m dying on the verge of victory and the goal. Happiness to those who will survive us and taste the sweetness of tomorrow’s freedom and peace. I am sure that the French people and all freedom fighters will be able to honor our memory with dignity. »
A gesture unanimously welcomed
It took eight decades to honor the memory of the orphan, survivor of the Armenian genocide, communist worker and poet. “The time of passion and that of history are different. Charles Péguy said that memory and history form a right angle. Very often, it is necessary to wait for time to sharpen this angle, for it to do its work so that passions die out and controversies disappear., observes General Christian Baptiste, national delegate of the Order of the Liberation, present Sunday at Mont-Valérien, satisfied to see a pantheonization unanimously welcomed by political leaders, despite the silence of the National Rally and the Reconquest party! by Eric Zemmour. At a time when the political world is debating migration issues, the celebration promised to Missak Manouchian will remind us that immigrant populations are no strangers to the liberation of France.
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