22.04.2021
Documents relating to Komitas Vardapet have been found in the National Archives of Spain by Dr. Ivan Gaztañaga, who was a Lemkin scholar at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in 2017. Diplomatic letters found in the archives contain information about the Armenian Genocide. The letters clearly demonstrate that Spain was informed about the massacres and deportations perpetrated against the Armenians by the Ottoman Government. Moreover, Spanish diplomats in Constantinople tried to rescue Komitas Vardapet. One of Komitas Vardapet’s friends also requested the intervention of the King of Spain Alphonse XIII to rescue the composer.
Spain has not yet officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Iván Gaztañaga hopes that “these documents can change the opinion of the Spanish Government and politicians, so they can recognize the Genocide as a moral and democratic act. Not recognizing is synonymous with denialism.”
Now thanks to Ivan Gaztañaga and by the permission of the Ministry of Education of Spain, those documents are available to the researchers on the AGMI website.
