Armenians protest at museum

A team of protesters, pressing for greater Armenian representation in displays of the Museum of Tolerance, on Monday marked the sixth day of a hunger strike in front of the museum.

The strikers, ages 18 to 23, belong to a national interest group, the Armenian Youth Federation. They said they were fasting to emphasize a demand that the museum agree to add a permanent Armenian genocide exhibit before April 30, 2004.

As many as 1.5 million Armenians died under the Ottoman Turk regime between 1915 and 1923, a period that many historians have labeled the first genocide of the 20th century.

The current Turkish government maintains that the deaths were a regrettable byproduct of World War I, not a genocide.

Some Armenian American activists have accused the Museum of Tolerance and its parent organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, of overlooking the Armenians’ plight in order to cultivate favor with Turkish leaders.

But the Museum of Tolerance director, Liebe Geft, said the protest is the result of misunderstanding by some and publicity-seeking manipulation by others. Of the strikers, she said, “we certainly bear them no hostility. The museum does recognize the genocidal experience of their people and their community.”

Geft said the museum makes reference to Armenia’s history in a video, “It’s Called Genocide,” which is available for viewing on the museum’s main exhibition floor. The strikers say that the video isn’t sufficient.

Geft also said the museum has nearly completed work on a wall display that will recognize several genocides that occurred in the 20th century, including that of the Armenians.

“We’ve already put in motion much more than they’ve asked for,” Geft said. “There is no need for the museum to pledge a commitment that it has already fulfilled, and continues to fulfill, each and every day.”

Because the museum relies so heavily on interactive, multimedia presentations, she noted, only a small share of its contents are visible in traditional displays.

The protest began April 16, with 14 hunger-strikers. After five nights in sleeping bags on the sidewalk in front of the museum, several ended their fast on doctor’s orders. Five strikers remained by midday Monday.

If the protesters can’t get the reassurances they seek from museum officials, “we will stay here,” said hunger striker Shant Baboujian, 23.

Ardashes Kassakhian, director of government relations for the Armenian National Committee of America’s Western Region, commended the hunger-strikers, saying he had sent “letter after letter” to the museum, also urging more attention to Armenian history in the museum. He says he has received only “elusive and noncommittal answers.”