ARA SARAFIAN AND YUSUF HALACOGLU STEP BACK OF THEIR INTENTION TO HOLD JOINT RESEARCH DEDICATED TO GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 15 2007

ISTANBUL, MARCH 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Historians Ara
Sarafian’s and Yusuf Halacoglu’s program of implementing a public
work in Kharberd to research the Armenian Genocide unfortunately
failed. The Turkish Radical newspaper wrote about it on March 14,
mentioning that both were ready to avoid the program in the case
of first possibility, what they did. Ara Sarafian, the head of the
London "Komitas" organization expressed a wish that it is studied
and found out in Kharberd, village by village, family by family,
what happened with Armenians living there. Yusuf Halacoglu, the
Chairman of the History Academy of Turkey said that the information
demanded by Sarafian, did not exist in the Ottaman Archives. Thus,
there is no information about what happened with Armenians living in
Kharberd. After this statement of Halacoglu, Sarafian stated that
that work may not go forward if Halacoglu already says that the
required information does not exist. So, he refused the program of
the public work.

The Turkish newspaper writes that Sarafian did not lose the
possibility of avoiding the work as he was under pressure of the
Armenian Diaspora. The Armenian Diaspora which considers indisputable
the genocide reality, is against organizing with Turks a discussion
concerning the genocide, especially with one most obstinately
protecting the Turkish viewpoint. The newspaper writes that Halacoglu
as well had a rest when he got to know about Sarafian’s refusal as
he was anxious about the future process of the work but did not want
to himself refuse.