21.05.2024


Carol Spahn, Acting Director of the US Peace Corps, led a delegation visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex, accompanied by Joanne Fairley, Peace Corps Country Director in Armenia.

AGMI director Edita Gzoyan welcomed the guests and accompanied them to the Genocide Memorial complex, presenting the history of its creation. She also narrated the history of the three khachkars placed in Tsitsernakaberd in memory of the Armenians who died in the massacres organized by the government of Azerbaijan in the cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad (Gandzak), and Baku at the end of the 20th century, as well as the stories of the five freedom fighters buried in front of the Memory Wall who died during the Artsakh struggle for survival. She emphasised the connection between the Armenian Genocide and contemporary acts of persecution and violence against Armenians and also referred to the historical and legal aspects of the Artsakh issue, describing Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian actions and propaganda.

The guests laid flowers at the Eternal Fire and observed a minute’s silence in memory of the innocent martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.

Mrs. Gzoyan accompanied the guests to the Memory Wall, which contains, in special niches on its reverse side, small containers of soil taken from the graves of several 19th and 20th-century foreign public figures, politicians, intellectuals and missionaries who raised voices of protest against the massacres and deportations of Armenians carried out by the Turkish government. Mrs. Gzoyan presented the pro-Armenian activities of Henry Morgenthau and Clara Barton, underscoring how their work raised awareness among the American public about the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States, according to Mrs Gzoyan, was also a tribute to those Americans. The AGMI director detailed the history of the Memory Grove, emphasising that the first tree was planted in 1997 by US Senator Robert Dole in memory of an Armenian-American surgeon Hambar Kelekyan, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide.

Lusine Abrahamyan, AGMI Deputy Director for Museum Affairs, led the guests through the Armenian Genocide Museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Mrs. Carol Spahn left a note in the Memory Book for Honoured Guests. Mrs. Gzoyan then presented her with books about the Armenian Genocide and expressed her gratitude for her visit.