Last month, at the behest of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI), Dr. Edita Gzoyan, was forced to resign. The reason stated by the Prime Minister was that Gzoyan had engaged in “a provocative act, contrary to the foreign policy pursued by the government” during U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance’s visit to the AGMI in February. The act in question appears to have been giving Vance a tour of the AGMI and presenting him with several publications relating to the Armenian Genocide and violence against Armenians in the early 20th century.
In what ways might Gzoyan’s actions be seen as contrary to Armenian foreign policy? What dangers are posed for institutions tasked with documenting, memorializing, and informing about Armenia’s history and culture if certain topics are deemed off limits? How did Vance’s posting and then deleting a statement about the Armenian Genocide factor into this situation? To what extent is the price of peace to be paid by academic institutions?