HISTORIAN ARA SARAFIAN’S PROPOSAL TO RESEARCH OTTAMAN ARCHIVES ACCEPTED BY HISTORY ACADEMY OF TURKEY

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Feb 22 2007

ANKARA, FEBRUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ara Sarafian,
a historian, specialist of the Armenian Genocide issue started a
dialogue recently with Yusuf Halacoglu, the Chairman of the History
Academy of Turkey, historian. Ara Sarafian participated in March 16,
2006 in the conference organized in the Istanbul University and spoke
about the Armenian Genocide. After Ara Sarafian’s speech historian
Yusuf Halacoglu proposed him to work together for discussion of the
1915 events. Ara Sarafian received the proposal. In the interview
given to the "Nokta" weekly in February, 2007, Ara Sarafian said that
no work has been done with Yusuf Halacoglu by now but it does not
mean that no public program may be worked out, Marmara states. Ara
Sarafian, who works at the Komitas Istitute of Great Britain, now
presented an interesting proposal to the History Academy of Turkey. He
proposed that a joint research is implemented on the occasion of some
events. For example, according to the Turkish viewpoint, all the
reports concerning the exile are kept in the Ottaman archives. So,
names of exiled people must be found in those archives, it must
be fixed in those lists when and from where the mentioned people
were exiled, where they were sent and settled and what organization
work was done in that place of exile, what compensations were paid
for the territories and the property the exiled Armenians left. Ara
Sarafian proposes the following: "Let’s choose the region of Kharberd
as a place for discussion of some events. Let’s historians in Turkey
put on discussion all those documents which are about the Armenians
exiled from Kharberd. Let’s see if it is written in those documents
what fate the exiled people had. How many Armenians were exiled?

How many people were allowed to stay in the place of their
settlement? What happened with those who stayed? Let’s find out
which the strong or weak sides of the documents are. I, from my side,
will put on the table documents which brought me to the conclusion
that Armenians lived in that region were not only exiled but also
were carried on policy of the worst attitude and slaughter. Let’s
together examine which the strong or weak sides of those documents
are. Ara Sarafian explained that Kharberd was just chosen as there is
much information abroad about that place and Kharberd had not been in
a war situation like Van or Erzrum. Consequently, discussion of some
events in Kharberd must be a transparent and scientific work. In Ara
Sarafian’s words, if the work is done, historians of other regions will
also be invited and similar researches will be carried out concerning
other regions as well. The Turkish "Sabah" daily states that Turkish
History Academy Chairman Yusuf Halacoglu stated in response to Ara
Sarafian’s above-mentioned proposal that the proposal is accepted:
"I officially state that we accept Ara Sarafian’s proposal." Halacoglu
mentioned that Ara Sarafian has a brave posture as it may put him in
difficult situation, and he may be put on different pressures.