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ANSAmed, Italy
June 11 2010
TURKEY-ARMENIA: TURKISH HISTORIANS SEEK THE TRUTH
(ANSAmed) - ANKARA - The aim of an ambitious project launched by
Turkey's Historical Society is to finally shed some light on almost a
century of tense and often stormy relations between Turks and
Armenians, but also to try and understand what really happened to
hundreds of thousands of Armenians massacred under the Ottoman Empire.
The Society has started a vast research operation which is expected to
involve around 300 historians and experts from dozens of countries.
The dispute between Armenia and Turkey has been ongoing for almost 100
years as a result of the massacres of Armenians (over a million,
according to Yerevan, a much lower figure for Ankara) between 1915 and
1916, during the Ottoman Empire, which Armenians believe constitutes
genocide. This definition has always been dismissed by Turkey, which
says that the dead were victims of a bloody civil war in which
thousands of Turks also died. The project, according to Anadolu news
agency, is entitled 'Turkish-Armenian relations in history and the
Armenian issue' and will feature over 500 research documents and
articles. Participants in the painstaking initiative are hoping to
complete the most complete research work ever undertaken on the
Armenian question, which could turn out to be a reference milestone
for the historians of today and tomorrow. Professor Enis Sahin, head
of the Department of Armenian Studies at the Turkish Historical
Society and director of the research team, said that the project
(which was announced last year) would involve experts from dozens of
countries including Italy, Chile, Azerbaijan, France, the United
States, Brazil, Argentina and Armenia itself. ''When we started this
project, we thought that it would all be contained within 5,000-6,000
pages. But it now looks as though, by the time it is finished, there
will be a series of about 20 volumes of 600-700 pages each. It will be
a sort of encyclopedia,'' said Sahin. The study will include a bulk of
information starting at the beginning of the Armenian saga, crossing
all periods of history, including the Byzantines (610-1453), the
Seljuqs (1030-1157) and the Ottomans (1299-1923). The work will also
feature a number of chapters on migration by Armenians across the
centuries, their diaspora and the modern Armenian lobbies around the
world. This sort of encyclopedia on Armenia, Sahin said, will be
published next year ahead of preparations that have already begun in
Yerevan to commemorate the 100th anninversary of the Armenian massacre
in 2015. (ANSAmed).
http://www.ansamed.info/en/top/ME13.XAM18053.html
From: A. Papazian
June 11 2010
TURKEY-ARMENIA: TURKISH HISTORIANS SEEK THE TRUTH
(ANSAmed) - ANKARA - The aim of an ambitious project launched by
Turkey's Historical Society is to finally shed some light on almost a
century of tense and often stormy relations between Turks and
Armenians, but also to try and understand what really happened to
hundreds of thousands of Armenians massacred under the Ottoman Empire.
The Society has started a vast research operation which is expected to
involve around 300 historians and experts from dozens of countries.
The dispute between Armenia and Turkey has been ongoing for almost 100
years as a result of the massacres of Armenians (over a million,
according to Yerevan, a much lower figure for Ankara) between 1915 and
1916, during the Ottoman Empire, which Armenians believe constitutes
genocide. This definition has always been dismissed by Turkey, which
says that the dead were victims of a bloody civil war in which
thousands of Turks also died. The project, according to Anadolu news
agency, is entitled 'Turkish-Armenian relations in history and the
Armenian issue' and will feature over 500 research documents and
articles. Participants in the painstaking initiative are hoping to
complete the most complete research work ever undertaken on the
Armenian question, which could turn out to be a reference milestone
for the historians of today and tomorrow. Professor Enis Sahin, head
of the Department of Armenian Studies at the Turkish Historical
Society and director of the research team, said that the project
(which was announced last year) would involve experts from dozens of
countries including Italy, Chile, Azerbaijan, France, the United
States, Brazil, Argentina and Armenia itself. ''When we started this
project, we thought that it would all be contained within 5,000-6,000
pages. But it now looks as though, by the time it is finished, there
will be a series of about 20 volumes of 600-700 pages each. It will be
a sort of encyclopedia,'' said Sahin. The study will include a bulk of
information starting at the beginning of the Armenian saga, crossing
all periods of history, including the Byzantines (610-1453), the
Seljuqs (1030-1157) and the Ottomans (1299-1923). The work will also
feature a number of chapters on migration by Armenians across the
centuries, their diaspora and the modern Armenian lobbies around the
world. This sort of encyclopedia on Armenia, Sahin said, will be
published next year ahead of preparations that have already begun in
Yerevan to commemorate the 100th anninversary of the Armenian massacre
in 2015. (ANSAmed).
http://www.ansamed.info/en/top/ME13.XAM18053.html
From: A. Papazian