OPPOSITION DEPUTY SUES BRITISH BLUE BOOK
Erol Onderoglu

BÝA, Turkey
April 18 2006

Main opposition CHP MP Sukru Elekdag, a retired diplomat, seeks USD
15,000 in libel damages for alleged insult in the Turkish translation
of British state document: “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire, 1915-1916” against the publishers.

BÝA (Istanbul) – Sukru Elekdag Republican People’s Party (CHP)
deputy and retired ambassador is suing publisher Muzaffer Erdogdu for
the Turkish translation “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire, 1915-1916, Correspondence by Viscount Bryce to Viscount Grey
of Falladon” which is also known as “The Blue Book” in diplomatic
tradition.

The book covers the correspondence and memoirs of witnesses and
officials including refugees and foreign dignitaries, as well as
newspaper articles, on controversial developments related to the
treatment of Armenians in the period of 1915 and 1916.

Elekdag, a member of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission
and the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission, is demanding 20
thousand YTL (USD15 thousand) in libel damages from those involved
in the publishing of the book, claiming he was insulted in a section
of the book edited by historian Taner Akcam.

The book’s publisher Erdogdu, historian Akcam and translator Ahmet
Guner will together appear before a court on May 30 as defendants
in the case. Akcam is also being accused by Elekdag for a similar
article he wrote for the monthly Birikim magazine last year.

The “Blue Book” contains research conducted by James Bryce and Arnold
Toynbee who in February 1916 were tasked by the British government
on a fact-finding mission to “collect evidence with regard to recent
incidents taking place in Armenia”.

The eventual report titled “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire” was prepared by the two and later published as part of the
British Parliament “Blue Book” series, earning this book the nickname
of “Blue Book”.

Elekdag: I was insulted

In his suit, Elekdag claims defendant historian Akcam committed
offence in pages 15-49 of the book under the section titled “A scandal:
Where is the letter of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey)
Sukru Elekdag and Justin Mc Carthy dragging this country?” as well
as in Akcam’s article published in the May-June 2005 dated issue of
the Birikim magazine.

Elekdag charges that both the book and the article insulted him and
that his individual rights had been attacked. He also says both his
professionalism and credibility suffered severe damages due to the
two articles.

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