The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) has sent a letter to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, calling for the immediate reinstatement of Edita Gzoyan as director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and guarantees of the institution’s academic autonomy.
The association emphasized that Gzoyan has played a key leadership role in advancing new scholarly research on the Armenian Genocide, modernizing the museum, and integrating young Armenian scholars into the global genocide studies community. Her academic works have been published in leading European and American journals, Sputnik Armenia reports.
In its open letter, the association also referred to Pashinyan’s March 12 press conference, during which he said he had personally requested Gzoyan’s resignation, arguing that she had presented U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance with a “provocative” book about Nagorno-Karabakh.
“You bypassed established procedures and appointed a member of your staff as director, while replacing independent board members with political allies. We understand that Armenia is in a difficult and complex situation, seeking to end a long-standing conflict with Azerbaijan and normalize relations. However, the erasure of historical memory cannot be driven by short-term political needs,” the letter states.
The association stressed that one of the founding purposes of the museum-institute was to counter denial of the Armenian Genocide. It also urged the Armenian government to reconsider interference in academic independence and to restore the trust of the international academic community in both the museum-institute and Armenia’s commitment to academic freedom and fundamental human rights.
It was noted that copies of the letter were also sent to Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited Armenia on February 9 and, on February 10, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial with his wife, accompanied by museum director Edita Gzoyan. Days after the visit, Gzoyan submitted her resignation, reportedly under pressure. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later confirmed he had requested it, citing a book she gave Vance about Nagorno-Karabakh, which he described as a provocative act.
