ARMENIAN CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS DIALOGUE NOT GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS
By Sezai Kalayci, Istanbul

Zaman, Turkey
April 19 2006

Remembered mostly for the so-called genocide allegations, the Armenian
issue will be taken up from a different angle at a conference organized
by Erciyes University.

Turkish Armenians Patriarch Mesrob II, who had refused to answer
questions related to the issue, will join the gathering to discuss
the peace process of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Professor Metin Hulagu, deputy dean of the Faculty of Science and
Letters of Erciyes University and head of the organization committee,
said Mesrob II rejected previous invitations, but what persuaded him
this time was their aim: “We plan to talk about peace and dialogue
between the two nations.”

Another remarkable aspect of this symposium is that those who had
spoken harshly on the matter will now talk about how to manage
co-habitation of Turks and Armenians.

The three-day conference organized by Erciyes University is titled “The
Art of Co-Existence in Ottoman Society: The Case of Turkish-Armenian
Relations.”

Hulagu says the Patriarch’s refusal of previous invitations
is understandable, “He naturally refused the invitation from a
conservative city of Anatolia where the atmosphere was tense. We
showed special consideration for his decision due to such concerns,
and for when Mr. Mesrob visited Kayseri two weeks ago. I spoke with
him about the symposium and its content, and he accepted an invitation
when we assured him that we planned to focus on peace and dialogue.”

Professor Hulagu assured politics will not be discussed at the
conference. “We want to emphasize peace and tolerance. We want to
demonstrate how Armenian and Turkish societies lived together for
centuries. If we had not attempted to address such a topic the
Patriarch would not have joined the meeting.”

The professor reminded that nobody had touched on the topic of peace
in relation to this issue so far. He said they plan to conduct a
similar symposium to take place in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia
are underway.