ASSYRIAN MASS GRAVE INVESTIGATION IN TURKEY
Assyrian International News Agency
EasternStar News Agency
April 18 2007
Between April 23-24, 2007, the Turkish Historical Society and
the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation will
initiate discussions about a possible investigation of a mass grave
(AINA, 11-28-2006, 11-6-2006) in the Mardin Province. The proposed
investigation will seek to clarify conflicting claims about the origins
of the mass grave through a forensic and historical investigation that
will continue until the autumn of 2007 when a joint expert opinion
will be issued.
Background: In October 2006 villagers in Kuru village of Nusaybin
district, in southeastern Turkey’s Mardin province disclosed that
they had found a mass grave in a cave near their village. Some
local reporters published articles including photographs of the
site stating that the grave contained remains of Armenians, and
was similar to other grave sites from this era. The authorities of
the Mardin province launched their own investigation and concluded
that the remains were from Roman times. The new investigation by the
Turkish Historical Society and the Institute for Historical Justice
and Reconciliation will seek to clarify these conflicting claims
through a collaborative investigation.
This proposed joint investigation of the Mardin mass grave will be
led by Professor Yusuf Halacoðlu, president of the Turkish Historical
Society, and Professor David Gaunt of Sodertorn University College in
Sweden who is the project director for the Institute for Historical
Justice and Reconciliation at the Salzburg Seminar.
The initial meeting in Mardin on April 23-24, 2007 will include
an inspection of the mass gravesite in Kuru village of Nusaybin
district. The aim of this visit is to make a preliminary survey to
establish whether the site is suitable for a future interdisciplinary
investigation by forensic medical experts, archaeologists, physical
anthropologists and historians. If such a determination is made,
forensic experts will be engaged to assist the Turkish Historical
Society and the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
in their work.
For more information contact:
Professor Yusuf Halacoðlu, President, Turkish Historical Institute
Email: [email protected]
Professor David Gaunt, Professor of History, Sodertorn University
College Email: [email protected]
–Boundary_(ID_/4/tQ1mFkdkIfxvT INucew)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
