1,500,000 PEOPLE VISIT GENOCIDE MUSEUM

[MosJan]

In an extensive interview to the daily Azg Lavrentiy Barseghian, director of the Genocide Museum and Institute, located on a hill in a Yerevan borough, tells that the Institute was created in 1995. “It was actually the first building constructed in the independent Armenia on state budget funds. Also a significant funding came from the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). Its construction was initiated by ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian. It began in 1994 September 13 and was over in 1995, April 24, on the day when Armenians across the world commemorate the victims of the Armenian genocide.

 

The goal was to have the Museum and Institute ready for the 80-th anniversary of the Genocide and to also demonstrate it to the international participants of an international conference on the Armenian genocide, that was held in Yerevan on those days. It was also a measure aimed to increase the prestige of the first Armenian president. Later when the Museum was ready Levon Ter-Petrosian, however, did not help our efforts aimed at the international recognition of the Genocide. I say this because a few days ahead of the official inauguration of the museum Jirayr Libaridian, an aide to Ter-Petrosian on foreign affairs, who was also deputy chairman of a government commission for commemoration of the anniversary, said while summing up the results of the international conference that everything related to the Genocide must be thrown into a litter-bin as “we need to build new relationship with Turkey.”

 

Later we witnessed that Libaridian was proceeding with that policy. When parliaments of different countries were considering the Genocide issue Libaridian was backing Turkey providing it with advice on how to counter-fight that campaign.

 

When the Institute and Museum opened in 1995 we had only 189 museum items, today we have some 24,000 items. Our collection includes about 4,000 books, 400 video films. We also have video-recorded evidence of 200 Genocide survivors and we have also collected hundred of written evidence. This all was summarized in a book, prepared by Verzhine Avagian, Doctor of Philology, who is in our staff.

 

The government of Germany presented to the Museum 14,000 pages of archival material. Part of them was processed and published by academician Vardges Mikaelian. Also we have brought 8,000 pages of archival material from Austria, 250,000 page of information from Harvard University, including stories, documented by American missioners from 1816 to 1918. Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in North America Archbishop Khajak Barsamian was very much instrumental in it.

 

Our Museum has more visitors than all 90 other museums in Armenia, about 250,000 visitors annually. Ashot Bleyan, former education minister in the administration of ex-president Ter-Petrosian had instructed school headmasters to give up taking children to the Museum.

 

The Museum staff is 52 people, 28 of them are researches. In the seven years 1, 560,000 people visited it, of which 62,000 were foreigners, including also Turks. Two Turkish students are expected to come and have a closer look at out materials. Turks are different too, ranging from those who deny the Genocide and those who ask for pardon for what their ancestors had done. We have never tried to implant seeds of enmity and hostility towards Turks. I believe that today’s Turks cannot be blamed for the Genocide. We are trying to make them realize that the first country that had recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide was Turkey, after its courts had sentenced seven criminals to death and hundreds of others to other prison terms.

 

The second Armenia-Diaspora Conference has decided to set up a new Institute of Armenian communities and Genocide on the basis of our Institute-Museum. It is natural as the Armenian Diaspora is the logical consequence of the Genocide.”

 

The 65-yeasr old director, who recently joined the Ramkavar Azatakan Party of Armenia (HRAK) says that the ideology of one of the traditional Armenian parties was most close to his outlook and ideas.

 

By Rafik Hovanesian

 

 

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