Genocide scholars concerned over dismissal of director of Armenian Genocide Institute- Museum

ArmInfo. Genocide scholars have  expressed their concern over the dismissal of the director of the  Armenian Genocide Institute-Museum, Edita Gzoyan. 

Below is a statement by a number of genocide scholars: 

Dear friends below you will find a press release containing a  statement signed by prominent scholars of genocide studies regarding  the removal of Dr. Edita Gzoyan from her position as Director of the  Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute I would greatly appreciate your  consideration in publishing this statement in your respective news  outlets.

We, the undersigned, express deep concern over the recent and  troubling developments at the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute  (AGMI) in Yerevan. On March 11, 2026, Dr.  Edita Gzoyan, one of the  most outstanding and dedicated directors in the history of the  Institute, submitted her resignation - reportedly under pressure from  the government rather than by free choice. 

Dr. Gzoyan has elevated the AGMI to international academic  prominence. Under her leadership, the Institute expanded its archival  collections, organized key symposia and conferences, and produced  scholarly works that have significantly advanced genocide studies  worldwide. She has been a tireless advocate for rigorous historical  research on the Armenian Genocide and related atrocities against  Armenians - work that has strengthened global understanding of past  injustices and supported the cause of historical truth. 

What makes her forced departure particularly alarming is its timing  and context. Just weeks earlier, Dr. Gzoyan had personally guided  U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance during his visit to the  Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. She highlighted not only the  genocide of 1915 but also later massacres of Armenians in Sumgait,  Kirovabad, and Baku, underscoring the historical continuity of anti  Armenian violence in the region. She also presented Vice President  Vance with scholarly works on the Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno  Karabakh conflict - essential context for understanding Armenia's  history and contemporary challenges.  On March 12, in response to a  journalist's question regarding the forced resignation of Dr. Edita  Gzoyan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated:

"I was the one who asked the director of the Armenian Genocide  Museum-Institute to submit a resignation letter; it was done on my  instruction. I considered giving a book about Artsakh to Vance to be  a provocative act that goes against the Government's policy."

The sequence of events indicates a broader and deeply troubling  pattern: the silencing of independent academic voices in favor of  political convenience. There is every reason to believe that this is  less about museum administration and more about repositioning the  AGMI to align its work with geopolitical priorities - especially a  desire to avoid honest discussion of atrocities related to Azerbaijan  amid ongoing normalization efforts. 

The Armenian Genocide Museum Institute is not merely a tourist site.  It is a center of historical memory and scholarship - a bulwark  against denial and distortion. Its leadership should be protected  from political interference, not subjected to it. Dr.  Gzoyan's  forced exit sends a chilling message to academics and historians  everywhere:  that rigorous inquiry and truthful remembrance can be  displaced for diplomatic comfort.

All of us have been actively engaged with AGMI in numerous meaningful  capacities- participating in its conferences, serving on the  editorial board of the International Journal of Armenian Genocide  Studies and on the academic board, collaborating with AGMI and its  staff on joint scholarly initiatives, and contributing to the field  through the publication of academic articles and books. Gzoyan has  played a key role in involving us in AGMI's activities through her  creative vision and outstanding scholarship, helping shape the  Institute's future.

We believe that any attempt to remove Dr. Gzoyan from the  directorship of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) would  seriously jeopardize the Institute's future and undermine its  standing within the international scholarly community. Such a  decision would not only disrupt the Institute's ongoing work but  would also send a deeply troubling signal to leading scholars of  genocide studies worldwide, discouraging them from collaborating with  AGMI and weakening the global academic partnerships that are  essential to its mission.

For these reasons, we strongly urge the Armenian government to  refrain from interfering in the leadership of the Institute. We call  on the authorities to respect the independence of AGMI and to ensure  that Dr. Gzoyan is allowed to continue her work without political  pressure or intervention. Protecting the Institute's autonomy and  leadership is critical for preserving its credibility, safeguarding  its scholarly mission, and maintaining the trust of the international  academic community. We believe that directorship of the AGMI should  be based on the qualities of the individual as a scholar and  administrator and not the political expediencies of any particular  administration.

The AGMI staff and members of the Board have expressed their full  confidence in Dr.  Gzoyan's exceptional leadership. We firmly demand  that Dr. Gzoyan be reinstated immediately and allowed to continue the  outstanding work she has been leading.

Prof. Bedross Der Matossian, Professor of History, Hymen Rosenberg  Professor in Judaic Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Prof. Elyse Semerdjian Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and  Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies at the  Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark  University.

Prof. Armen Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Connecticut  State University

Prof. Keith Watenpaugh, Professor of Human Rights Studies, University  of California, Davis 

Prof. Melanie Schulze Tanielian, Associate Professor of History,  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dr. Simon Maghakyan, Associate Member of the Faculty of Asian and  Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford

Dr. Boris Adjemian, Director of Bibliotheque Nubar de l'UGAB

Mr. Marc Mamigonian, Director of Academic Affairs, National  Association for 

Armenian Genocide and Research (NAASR)

Prof. Vahe Tachjian, Houshamadyan, Berlin / Ara Hrechdakian Chair of  Armenian Studies at Saint Joseph University of Beirut

Prof. Houri Berberian Professor of History, Meghrouni Family  Presidential Chair in Armenian Studies University of California,  Irvine

Prof. Henry Theriault, Ph.D., Vice-Chair, Board of Directors,  National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, and  Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International

Prof. Ronald Grigor Suny, William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished  University Professor of History Emeritus, The University of Michigan;  Professor of Political Science and History Emeritus, The University  of Chicago

Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Haig and Isabel Berberian Coordinator  of Armenian Studies, California State University, Fresno

Prof. Lori Khatchadourian, Associate Professor, Departments of Near  Eastern Studies & Anthropology, Cornell University.

Dr. Hilmar Kaiser, Universitat Bern

Mr. Michael Bobelian, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and  Baruch College Prof. A. Dirk Moses, Anne and Bernard Spitzer  Professor of International Relations at the City College of New York

Prof. Herve Georgelin, Assistant Professor, National University of  Athens, Greece Mr. Gregory Aftandilian, Senior Professorial Lecture,  American University, Washington, DC

Prof. Julien Zarifian, Professor of U.S. History, University of  Poitiers, France

Prof. Fatma Muge Gocek, Professor of Sociology, University of  Michigan

Prof. David Gaunt, Emeritus Professor of History, Sodertorn  University, Stockholm, Sweden

Prof. Tessa Hofmann, formerly Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany,  Institute for Eastern European Studies

Dr. Talar Chahinian, Continuing Lecturer in Armenian Studies,  University of California, Irvine

Prof. Samuel Totten, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville