LECTURE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARA SARAFIAN (Gomidas Institute, UK)

Abril Bookstore & Publishing
415 E. Broadway Ave. Suite #102
Glendale, CA 91205
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
8:00 pm

The British Parliamentary Blue Book and the Denial of the Armenian
Genocide: The Continuing Saga

Last year, on the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish
Grand National Assembly (TGNA) mounted a campaign against the 1916
British Parliamentary Blue Book. Couched in terms of improving relations
with the republic of Armenia and resolving the Armenian Genocide issue,
Turkish Parlimentarians claimed that the root of the Armenian Genocide
thesis were British propagandists during World War I, and the TGNA
requested that the British Parliament rescind the 1916 work.

This official Turkish onslaught, which is still in progress, reflected
the continuing cynicism of Turkish authorities when addressing the
Armenian issue. The soft language of peace masked a more disturbing
agenda. The main culprits in this effort were Sukru Elekdag, the former
Turkish ambassador to the United States (now a member of the TGNA), and
his longstanding ally, Justin McCarthy, a long time denier of the
Armenian Genocide.

Only a few weeks ago, at a special symposium on improving
Turkish-Armenian relations, Sukru Elekdag gave an update on his efforts
to co-opt the British Parliament in the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

In his talk, the British archival historian Ara Sarafian will provide an
update to the activities of Turkish authorities in the United Kingdom,
and discuss the main lines of opposition to Turkish efforts.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Ara Sarafian is an archival historian specialising in
late Ottoman and modern Armenian history. He is the director of Gomidas
Institute (UK) and editor of Gomidas Institute Books. His publications
include the critical edition of the famous 1916 Blue Book, The Treatment
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1916-1916 [Uncensored Edition]. Over
the past year he has advised a group of British Parliamentarians who
have opposed the efforts of the TGNA to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Sarafian was also a participant at the Istanbul University symposium on
Turkish-Armenian relations (March 15-17, 2006).

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