Most records on Armenian Genocide not studied so far

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian National Archive currently comprises more than 12 thousand documents on the Genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Amatuni Virabyan, RA National Archive Director said in a press-conference convened in Yerevan. "The documents received from Berlin, St. Petersburg, Paris and many other towns of the world have not yet been registered in our archive. About 50% of the materials concerning Genocide have already been studied, but there are still many others that need to be studied," RA National Archive Director stated.



According to Mr. Virabyan, there's currently a great number of records on Armenian Genocide, starting from reports by Turkish diplomats accredited to many countries and ending with tragedy eye-witnesses' private records. "In Soviet times, documents on the Armenian Genocide were difficult to find in Armenian archives. Such papers were mainly kept in Russian archives. In 1916, 'Mshak' Armenian periodical collected evidence and detailed descriptions of Armenian emigrants who survived the Genocide. That information is also kept in our archive now," Mr. Virabyan noted. According to him, the second group of documents includes church records kept in Echmiadzin.



At that time, foreign diplomats' telegrams and reports arrived in St. Echmiadzin, saying that Western Armenia population was on the brink of extermination. There are also records about the Russian Army which invaded Western Armenia in 1916. The Russian soldiers were then telling people about mass burials of Armenians in different villages of Western Armenia," Mr. Virabyan said, adding at the same time that the archive contained documents belonging to two Armenian delegations that participated in 1918 Paris Peace Conference. The document contained information on material damages suffered by Armenian during World War I.



The commission was set up by Armenian poet Hovhannes Toumanyan. The original copies of the documents are now kept in the Armenian National Archive. Having access to so many materials on the Armenian Genocide, the National Archive can, at any moment, submit a claim for participation in international symposiums," Amatuni Virabyan stressed. In addition, he mentioned that the archive constantly carries out work towards obtaining new materials testifying to the XX century Genocide. "We are looking forward to the opening of European, especially British archives keeping numerous documents on the Genocide of Armenians," Director of the National Archive said, stressing that the archive is always open and has repeatedly submitted materials to different international tribunals. "A lawsuit on the case of the German banks which kept the savings of Western Armenians is currently in process. We are now collecting materials and documents so as to submit them to the court and win the case," Amatuni Virabyan stated.