Turkish National Assembly Blocks Distribution of Genocide Book to
Members
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By Contributor on Aug 7th, 2009
BY AYSE GUNAYSU
Armenian Weekly columnist Ayse Gunaysu reports from Istanbul on yet
another effort by the Turkish Grand National Assembly to stifle
discussion about the Blue Book.
The delivery of the Blue Book to the members of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly (TGNA) has been rejected by the Speaker of the
TGNA. The 550 copies of the new authorized Turkish translation of `The
Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-1916,’ a 1916
publication of the British Parliament known as the Blue Book, had been
individually packed and addressed to each member of the TGNA after the
launch of the book in Ankara by Lord Avebury, vice-chair of the
Parliamentary Human Rights Group and Ara Sarafian, director of the
Gomidas Institute, on June 26, 2009. The 550 copies were returned to
the printing house. Delivery through a cargo company in Ankara was
later arranged.
The Turkish edition of Blue Book released in Ankara was published by
the Gomidas Institute (London), which had also published the
uncensored editions of the original 1916 publication, edited and with
an introduction by Ara Sarafian, in 2000 and 2005 respectively.
A report published in the August 5 issue of the daily Hurriyet
revealed the truth behind the TGNA’s refusal of the books. In a news
item by Hurriyet correspondent Sefa Kaplan, Sukru Elekdag is quoted to
have said that it was he who called Speaker Koksal Toptan (the deputy
of the ruling AKP) and told him not to give permission for the
distribution of the books. Here is how Sukru Elekdag justified his
action: `Toynbee had himself confessed that the book was a collection
of lies. I consider it my duty to stop the delivery of the books. I
don’t think that this is censorship. It is inappropriate to let a book
which is nothing but a propaganda tool distributed and promoted.’
Sukru Elekdag said he hadn’t received any invitation from Sarafian but
he is ready to discuss the Blue Book issue with Sarafian either in
England or in Turkey.
Ragip Zarakolu, the owner of the Belge Publishing House and the
Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Association in Turkey, organized the
delivery of the books through a cargo company. He said the ban on the
book by the Speaker of TGNA was a scandal and a usurpation of the
right of MP’s to exercise their free will. Zarakolu said they will
send the copies to the home addresses of the TGNA members.
Contacted by phone, Ara Sarafian commented, `Elekdag is concerned
about his own legacy. He has misled and compromised the TGNA on the
Blue Book issue for many years. Now he wants to stop his colleagues
from finding out what he has done. We will invite Elekdag to a public
meeting and hold him accountable for his views.’
Sukru Elekdag is a retired ambassador and the architect of Turkey’s
domestic and international strategy against the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. He was the one behind the well-known TGNA letter to
the British Parliament, signed by 550 members, demanding the
withdrawal of the Blue Book and acknowledgement of the fact that it is
nothing but a war-time propaganda tool, a `fabrication.’
For more information about the blue book issue, including copies of
the invitations sent to Elekdag and his colleagues for a dialogue
regarding the Blue Book see