Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 10 2007

Sarafian bows to diaspora pressure, says Halaçoðlu

The possibility of joint research by Turkish and Armenian historians
into the 1915 tragedy of Anatolian Armenians — described by
Armenians as a genocide but contested by Turkey — has fallen
through, Yusuf Halaçoðlu of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK)
announced yesterday in Ankara, blaming Armenian diaspora pressure for
the failure.

Late last month, following an open call from Armenian origin
British historian Ara Sarafian of the London based-Gomidas Institute,
Halaçoðlu expressed readiness for a joint case study on the treatment
of Armenians in Harput in 1915.

However, in an electronic message sent to Halaçoðlu on Feb. 28,
Sarafian said: "If the relevant Ottoman records you previously
qualified as meticulously kept are not available, then we cannot
proceed. Obviously I am disappointed."

Sarafian was referring to Halaçoðlu’s remarks during a television
interview when he said that Sarafian might not be able to find what
he was looking for in the Ottoman archives.

Disclosing Sarafian’s message at a press conference, Halaçoðlu urged
Sarafian to disclose what documents he said he had regarding the
events of 1915.

"I particularly want to stress that Mr. Sarafian has probably been
subject to pressure," said Halaçoðlu. "As a matter of fact, a news
report published by [bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper] Agos said
that the Armenian diaspora was very angry with Sarafian because of
his proposal to study together with Turkish historians," he added.

"A big opportunity for both Armenians and Turks has been missed after
Sarafian gave up the idea of studying together. In spite of this, we
will continue keeping our doors open."

Earlier this week, the Gomidas Institute released a press statement
and quoted Sarafian as saying: "Primary sources outside of Turkey
indicate that the 1915 deportation of Armenians and the liquidation
of their properties were regulated by Ottoman state authorities.
Armenians were deported under the auspices of Ottoman officials. And
most deportees were killed through privations and outright massacres
on their way or in their places of exile (most notably Der Zor). Our
sources indicate that there never was a resettlement program as
historians defending the official Turkish thesis suggest."

The Gomidas Institute said it hoped that Halaçoðlu would "explain why
he thinks that the Ottoman deportation and resettlement registers the
Gomidas Institute requested do not exist — especially those on
Harput and its environs."

Halaçoðlu also announced he had agreed with historian David Gaunt of
Södertörns University College in Sweden to conduct joint research and
jointly open mass graves in Nusaybin in the southeastern Anatolian
province of Mardin which Armenian historians say may contain the
remains of victims of the alleged 1915 Armenian genocide.

For some time, Halaçoðlu and Gaunt have been negotiating a date for a
meeting in Mardin. Gaunt offered to come to Turkey between April 23
and 25, Halaçoðlu explained and added that he had no hesitation to
conduct the opening of the gravesite on April 24, the anniversary of
the alleged genocide, thus he accepted Gaunt’s proposal for the date.

The mass grave in Nusaybin was discovered by villagers in August
2006. The area where the mass grave lies is on a line of ancient
defense works and underground storage rooms dating back to Roman
times. Halaçoðlu, with a confident tone, reiterated his theory at the
press conference that the remains are from Roman times.

Separate samples from the remains will be analyzed both in Turkey and
Sweden as well as at an international institute which the Turkish and
Swedish delegations will determine jointly, Halaçoðlu said.