Armenian scholar warns of eroding genocide memory amid Turkey denial

Armenian scholar Ruben Melkonyan claims Turkey has long institutionalized denial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, warning that Armenia itself may be undermining its historical memory amid growing internal debate.

Speaking at a forum on Tuesday, Melkonyan, dean of the Oriental Studies Faculty at Yerevan State University, said denial had been embedded in Turkish state policy since the events themselves. He argued that Ottoman Interior Minister Talaat Pasha not only oversaw mass killings but also laid the groundwork for modern Turkey’s enduring denial narrative.

Melkonyan said that, historically, Armenians sought to preserve collective memory and pursue justice despite what he called international indifference, at times resorting to retaliatory actions collectively referred to as “Operation Nemesis”.

“While the Turkish side remembers to deny, the Armenian side must remember not to forget,” he said.

He added that genocide denial in Turkey is reinforced through legal instruments, education systems and public commemoration, with perpetrators still widely portrayed as national heroes.

In contrast, Melkonyan pointed to what he described as concerning trends within Armenia, including criticism of memorial initiatives, questioning of the widely cited death toll of 1.5 million, and arguments that revisiting historical narratives is necessary for pragmatic normalization with Turkey.

“Pragmatism has no connection to historical memory,” he said, adding that efforts to sideline remembrance reflect political weakness rather than strategic calculation.

Melkonyan warned that Armenia is engaged in a “struggle of memories” with Turkey but is “voluntarily retreating”, risking damage to national identity and historical continuity.

He described the rise of internal challenges to genocide remembrance as “not only incomprehensible but unacceptable”, particularly in light of more than a century of external denial.