The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 10 2007

Armenian historian bows out of Harput dig

The New Anatolian / Ankara

Yusuf Halacoglu, head of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK), stated
yesterday that despite saying earlier he would participate in the
project, an Armenian historian has now decided against jointly
excavating an alleged mass burial site.

Holding a press conference at the TTK’s offices, Halacoglu said that
he had accepted a proposal by Ara Sarafian to work together to look
into allegations of a mass grave. "We have been in contact via
email," said Halacoglu. "In the email I sent him on Feb. 26, I told
him not to take some stories published in papers into consideration.
I proposed we meet face to face to set a date of the work,
principles, those who will participate in the commission and which
archives will be investigated. I also asked him to write in Turkish
as he speaks perfect Turkish."

Halacoglu said that he got a negative reply from Sarafian. "He wrote
that he has been following the developments in the Turkish media and
was sorry he will not be carrying out the common project," said the
historian. "Sarafian said that he thought the project would be
productive for both sides. He wrote, ‘If, contrary to what you said,
well-kept Ottoman archives are lacking, we can’t make any progress,’
adding that he hopes to work together on new projects. Following his
message I sent him an email, but haven’t gotten an answer."

Stating that he received a press release from the Gomidas Institute
on Thursday saying that they couldn’t conduct the research, Halacoglu
said that they were supposed to conduct the research together in line
with the proposal. "We were planning to examine foreign archives, as
well as Ottoman archives and look at the report of then U.S. Consul
Leslie Davis," he said.

Citing an article from the March 2 issue of the Agos newspaper,
Halacoglu said that there was about him, but more important was
another saying, "The diaspora is opposing Sarafian." "I think this
news clearly shows why Sarafian has given up," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress