Academics in Turkey to avoid ban on Armenian massacre conference by
changing venue
.c The Associated Press
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – A group of academics planning to hold a
conference on the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire has
decided to skirt a court order banning the conference by changing the
venue to another university, an academic official said Friday.
The conference deals with one of the most sensitive issues of Turkey’s
history, the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks at around the
time of World War I. An Istanbul court on Thursday ruled the meeting,
which was originally scheduled for Friday at Bogazici University, had
to be canceled. The court demanded details on how the scholars were
chosen and asked for the credentials of all those intending to
participate.
But Aydin Ugur, president of Istanbul Bilgi University, said the
conference would be held Saturday morning at Bilgi. He said the
court’s order was directed at two other universities, and had
“nothing to do with Bilgi.”
Turkish academics and European Union observers have insisted that the
Armenian conference is not only a chance for Turkey to face one of the
most sensitive issues in its history, but also a test of Turkey’s
willingness to permit free speech and open academic discourse.
The European Commission on Friday condemned the Turkish court ruling,
saying it deplored “this new attempt to prevent Turkish society from
freely discussing its history” and that it would make note of it in a
Nov. 9 progress report on Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union.
Ugur said at a news conference Friday that the Turkish court’s demand
to review academic credentials of conference participants “threatens
every serious academic institution.”
Turkey has been trying to rapidly implement reforms in the run-up to
opening EU membership talks on Oct. 3.
09/23/05 11:14 EDT