R. MELKONYAN: OTTOMAN EMPIRE’S ARCHIVES HAVE BEEN PURGED

Aysor
Sept 18 2009
Armenia

"Both item on committee [of historians] and mutual recognition
of borders are those ones that have definitely caused different
assumptions and opinions, and there is a reason to," said at today’s
meeting with journalists Ruben Melkonyan, a turkologist.

Mr. Melkonyan underlined that Para on committee of historians needs to
be systematized. Thus, the turkologist is interested how the committee
will form an agenda, who will enter the committee, and what have the
historians do in committee if that is governmental and so on.

Mr. Melkonyan thinks that none of Armenian historians will discuss
issue of Armenian Genocide and at the same time he doesn’t exclude that
Turkish side will do its best to make it the subject of discussions.

"The most important issue that the Turkish push is Ottoman Empire’s
archives learning," said Mr. Melkonyan. He noted that the Turkish
are trying just to play, having announced that one can find facts
that prove otherwise. He says the issue of archives is their "trump
card", that is why the Turkish side offers mutual opening of archives
referring to Dashnaky’s ones in Boston.

"Ottoman Empire’s archives were purged many times," said Ruben
Melkonyan, "after Young Turks lost they have just destroyed all the
archival documents."

"Documents directly confirming Armenian Genocide have been destroyed,"
the turkologist said adding that issue of Armenian-Turkish relations
has numerous other problems which are closed even for the Turkish
researchers.