The situation surrounding the forced resignation of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Edita Gzoyan raises serious concerns about the autonomy and institutional independence of scientific institutions, the Gituzh initiative said in a statement.

The group commented on the controversy around Gzoyan’s resignation, warning that presenting the professional actions of a scientific institution’s head as “provocative” creates a dangerous precedent.

“The head of a public research institution is not a political official and cannot be assessed based on considerations of current domestic or foreign policy.

If the professional actions of a scientific institution’s leader are portrayed as ‘contradicting foreign policy’ or as ‘provocative,’ a dangerous precedent is created whereby the work of scientific institutions—and in this case also memory institutions—can be subjected to political control.

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute is not only a state institution but also a scientific body with nationwide and international authority. Political interference in its leadership undermines the institution’s credibility, its international reputation, and the independence of Armenia’s scientific environment. This concern has already been voiced by more than twenty prominent international genocide scholars.

If the head of a scientific institution can be dismissed for the content of their professional work, then not only the position of one director is at risk, but also the principle of professional autonomy of Armenia’s scientific institutions.

Therefore, it is necessary either to provide a full, public and legally justified explanation or to restore the director’s authority through a transparent procedure,” the statement said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, responding to a question about the resignation application of the Genocide Museum-Institute director, said that Edita Gzoyan wrote the resignation letter at his instruction.

When a journalist noted that it appeared the museum director had been removed at the prime minister’s request after giving U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance a book about Artsakh and speaking on the issue of Artsakh, Pashinyan said he considered the action provocative.