Turkish edition of British Blue Book presented at House of Lords

Ankara launch on June 26

Published: Thursday June 25, 2009

Lord Avebury on the terrace of the Palace of Westminster. Wikipedia

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London - At a press conference at the House of Lords on June 22, Lord Avebury announced the imminent launch in Ankara of a Turkish translation of the British parliamentary Blue Book, The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-16. He was joined by historian and publisher Ara Sarafian. The Ankara launch was scheduled for Friday, June 26.

It is the critical and uncensored edition of the work, first published by the Gomidas Institute in its original English in 2000 and 2005, that has been published in Turkish, once again by the Gomidas Institute, under the title, Osmanl? ?mparatorlu?u'nda Ermenilere Yap?lan Muamele, 1915-1916.

The Ankara launch is sponsored by the Turkish Human Rights Association (Ankara) and the Freedom of Thought Association.

A continuing controversy

The Turkish translation of the Blue Book, and the decision to launch it in Ankara, were prompted by an initiative of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. In April 2005, the Turkish parliament sent a petition to the British Parliament to repudiate the 1916 publication as a wartime fabrication.

When the petition was received in London, the Speaker of the House of Commons gave an ambivalent reply because he could not express any collective view of British members of Parliament.

Some 32 members of Parliament, however, responded to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in detail, repudiating the notion that the classic text was mere propaganda. They proposed a meeting to discuss the matter. No response was forthcoming from Ankara.

On the suggestion of the British members of Parliament, and with the support of the AGBU, the Gomidas Institute undertook the translation of the book into Turkish, and its publication. For this major undertaking, the institute received the support of the AGBU.

The Turkish translation of the Blue Book was intended to make it possible for the members of the Turkish parliament - and the public at large - to read the book they complained about, Mr. Sarafian said. He added that it was a chance to revive and reinvigorate the discussion between the Turkish and British legislative bodies.

Lord Avebury said the topic, raised initially by the Turkish parliament, presented British members of Parliament with a good opportunity to engage their Turkish colleagues in a meaningful manner. This was because all parties had equal access to all the relevant materials and operated on a level playing field. What the British members of Parliament did not expect was the complete silence of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and its members, even though they were asked twice for a face-to-face meeting, Lord Averbury added.

Freedom of speech in Turkey

The development of the Blue Book issue has also become a yardstick of the Turkish parliament's sentiment regarding Armenians. At about the same time the Turkish Grand National Assembly sent its petition to the British Parliament, the prime minister of Turkey wrote to Armenia's president, proposing the establishment of a commission of historians and others to address the events of 1915.

The Armenian government refused to enter into such a venture because there was already enough evidence about the fact of the Armenian Genocide.

Many suspected that the Turkish prime minister was playing for time, expecting that the commission, once appointed, would get nowhere. The Turkish parliament's handling of the Blue Book reinforced the impression that the Turkish side had a lack of good faith in this matter, Mr. Sarafian noted.

On a more positive note, the launch of the Blue Book in Ankara will be the first time that an Armenian diaspora organization is exercising free speech in Turkey and thus allowing Turkish citizens to hear previously obscured or distorted voices about the Armenian Genocide. Such discussions should allow Turkish citizens to hear a variety of views on the Armenian issue and to make up their own minds about the Armenian Genocide and modern Turkish historiography.

connect:
info@gomidas.org

James Bryce and Arnold Toynbee, Osmanli Imparatorlugu'nda Ermenilere Yapilan Muamele, 1915-1916 Vikont Bryce'in Fallodon Vikontu Grey'e Sundugu Belgeler [Sansürsüz Basim], Gomidas Institute: London and Istanbul, 2009, 654 pp. Yayina hazirlayan Ara Sarafian. Özel önsöz Lord Avebury.