1909 ADANA MASSACRES REMEMBERED: SOMBER REFLECTIONS ON PAIN, SUFFERING AND LOSS
By Nora Vosbigian

AZG DAILY
06-11-2009

Diaspora

A centennial commemoration of the Adana massacres was held at Glendale
Public Library on 11 October 2009. It was a somber and moving event
that held a full house audience for three hours. Present were many
descendants of Armenians from Adana, as well as intellectuals and
academics. The event was sponsored by Abril Books, Gomidas Institute
and Glendale Public Library. The master of ceremonies was Arno
Yeretzian.

Garo Moumjian and Ara Sarafian were the main speakers. The audience
included other academics, such as Drs. J. Michael Hagopian, Kay
Muradian, and Richard Hovannisian and Levon Marashlian.

Both of the main speakers spoke about the horrors of 1909 and the
culpability of Ottoman authorities in the killings. The number of
Armenian victims was estimated between 20,000-40,000 people, as well
as the huge loss of property that was either looted or burnt down.

Garo Moumjian’s talk included some details of a recent conference
he attended in Ankara on the Adana 1909 events. It was organised by
the Turkish Historical Society. In his talk Moumjian discussed the
untenable position of Turkish official historiography denying the
facts of the 1909 massacres. According to Moumjian, official Turkish
historians are weak in their assessment of basic sources related
to the 1909 events. They still blame Armenians for the outbreak
of the massacres. According to Moumjian, the Turkish position will
have to change. Moumjian captivated his audience with his powerful
presentation.

Ara Sarafian discussed the nature of Armenian sources on the
1909 events, with a synopsis and readings from the recent abridged
translation of Hagop Terzian’s "Giligio Aghedu" (under the new title
"Cilicia 1909: the Massacre of Armenians"). Sarafian gave chilling
excerpts for eyewitness accounts. He also mentioned the significance
of the Adana events in evaluating Turkish historiography: these
massacres took place in peacetime, in the full gaze of the world. The
British, French, Germans, Americans, Greeks and other states had full
diplomatic ties to the Ottoman Empire, as well as representatives
in Adana. Sarafian stressed the significance of western archives on
these events, as well as Armenian records.

"I am an advocate of collecting and publishing such records as a
matter of course. The work involved is modest, but the benefits are
huge. By publishing such information, we can make sure discussions
remain focused on real issues." (Sarafian has published such materials
on the Armenian Genocide).

Sarafian also discussed the Adana 1909 conference in Istanbul on
November 6-7. The Istanbul event is organised by the International
Hrand Dink Foundation, the Gomidas Institute and Bilgi, Sabanji and
Bogazici Universities. Sarafian stressed that such meetings in Turkey
are fruitful, especially as there are some very good Turkish scholars
working on Armenian issues. It is important to make a distinction
between these scholars, and those who simply follow the official
Turkish theses on Armenian issues.

Father Barrett Yeretzian gave a sensitive memorial prayer and blessed
the memory of those killed in the massacres.

The commemoration featured a powerful multimedia presentation based on
the works of Siamanto and Zabel Yesayan, with video, theater, poetry,
and music. Members of the Element Band performed an amazing rendition
of the famous Adana song, "Godoradz Angoum". The event finished
with the release of Hagop Terzian’s "Cilicia 1909: the Massacre of
Armenians" (Gomidas Institute, 2009) and the opening of a special
month-long photographic exhibition on Adana 1909 from the Ernst Jackh
collection, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Abril Books, Gomidas Institute and Glendale Public Library should be
congratulated for such a powerful educational commemorative event.

For more information, please contact info@gomidas.org