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Cancelled conference: Joint declaration of organizers & participants

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  • Cancelled conference: Joint declaration of organizers & participants

    FEAJD.org (Communiqués de presse), Belgium
    May 27 2005

    CANCELLED CONFERENCE : THE JOINT DECLARATION OF THE CONFERENCE
    ORGANIZERS AND PARTICIPANTS'


    The three day conference entitled 'The Otoman Armenians during the
    Era of Otoman Decline' that we, as academics and public intellectuals
    of Turkey, had planned with Bosphorus University as host was
    unfortunately forced to be deferred as a consequence of pressures,
    threats and slander.

    We protest that two deputies serving under the roof of the Turkish
    National Assembly, which is presumed to be the guarantor of
    scientific activities, academic freedom and security of life and
    property, have engaged in provocations that are totally in opposition
    to these fundamental principles, and that the spokesperson of the
    government incriminated all the conference participants by serious
    claims such as 'thrusting a knife into the nation's back.'

    We are additionally ashamed that this spokesperson also carries the
    title of 'Minister of Justice.' We think that it would be more
    appropriate for him to be utilized with a duty outside of that of law
    and justice.

    We herewith notify the public that this conference will be convened
    in the near future.

    We organize this conference to seek answers to the question 'what
    happened before, during and after 1915?' We attempt to understand and
    recount a historical issue that during the last years has become
    trapped and increasingly politicized between the radical Armenian
    national and official Turkish theses.

    Scientific meetings are not necessarily covered like television
    debates conducted on certain issues. Scientific meetings also do not
    have the prerogative to bring together all sides who are in
    opposition to one another and who are also convinced of their own
    'truths.'

    Furthermore, the decision to determine who should comprise the
    participants of a scientific conference is the most natural right of
    the hosts and the most fundamental application of the freedom of
    thought that is supposed to exist at universities.

    No one individual, organization and institution has the right to
    intervene in a scientific conference organized outside of its own
    body.

    In addition, we find the unjust and prejudiced accusations made
    against the not yet presented papers of a not yet actualized
    conference totally unlawful.

    Had the actualization of this conference been tolerated, the rich,
    varied and not at all monotonous approaches to the issue of what
    happened before, during and after 1915 would have emerged.

    We, the participants of this conference whose signatures are enclosed
    below, want to especially point out, as we also noted on our press
    release dated 17 May 2005, that ''The emergence of different,
    critical and alternative voices, the demonstration of how Turkey
    actually contains such a rich multiplicity of thoughts would be, once
    again, to the utmost benefit of Turkey.'

    We believe that the actualization of our conference in the very near
    future would be one of the most significant steps taken in our
    country on the path to academic freedom, to the independence of
    universities, and in general toward democracy.'

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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