MONTEVIDEO — During a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Montevideo on Wednesday, the presentation of the project of Armenian Genocide Museum in Uruguay was launched.
The project was organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Centennial Commemoration Commission of Armenian Genocide of the Armenian Community Organizations of Uruguay.
The Museum will be the first one created by initiative of a State outside the territory of Armenia.
The launch of this project was attended by the Minister of Education and Culture, Ricardo Ehrlich, Under Secretary, Oscar Gomez, coordinator of the National Museums, Javier Royer, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Melikian, and Archbishop of the Armenian Church in Uruguay, Hakob Kelendjian.
Uruguay was the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965, declaring April 24 as Armenian Martyrs Day. The Museum will aim to promote memory, the response to any act of genocide and reflection on racism and xenophobia.
The coordinator of the National Museums, Javier Royer, defined the purpose of this museum as a space for reflection and education, both on the Armenian genocide as other similar situations. It will deal with xenophobia, racism, ethnocide and will be an educational tool to promote tolerance and peace. Collections will be presented showing Armenian culture with tangible, intangible and oral history, but also have space for cultural and artistic expressions of other communities. As host, the Ministry of Education and Culture offered the old house of Jose Enrique Rodo, in the Thirty-Third Street, which should be overhauled for this project.
Uruguayan Undersecretary of Education, Oscar Gomez, said that the initiative “ratifies the Uruguayan policy of defense of human rights”.
“The Museum will not only refer to the Armenian Genocide, but also to the defense of human rights in general and the recognition of other genocides, such as the Holocaust or the Africans genocide during slavery”, he added.
The Museum, will open on April 24, 2015, on the Genocide Centennial Anniversary.