Editor of book slams criticism of honesty
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - As the United Kingdom does not officially recognize Armenian genocide claims, historian Ara Sarafian has questioned why the London-based institute he heads would lie in a recent edition of a book that appears to back those claims. The Gomidas Institute has recently edited a new version of a book first published in 1916 that deals with the 1915 killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey refutes claims that Armenians were victims of a genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, arguing that there were deaths among all communities in war-time Anatolia during that period. Turkey argues that the Blue Book is propaganda containing mainly false assertions published by Great Britain against the Ottoman Empire, which was allied to Germany in World War I. Before the Gomidas version, the book was published in 2005 by Pencere Publishing, a Turkish company.
Speaking after the new edition’s launch in Ankara on June 26, Sarafian said: "England is one the countries that defend the Turkish thesis. A policy in favor of Turkey is being followed and the Armenian genocide is not recognized by the British government. Why would Britain want to play a trick like this? Why would it make false claims? What is in it for England?" He said the reason the book’s launch was held in Ankara was the fact they had invited all parliamentary deputies to the launch and wanted to make it easier for them to attend the release.
Sarafian said the Blue Book had become a diplomatic problem between Turkey and Britain, adding that was the reason they wanted to share copies of the new edition with them first. "This is the uncensored version," he said, adding that the Turkish version published by Pencere had included many mistakes linked to translation and missing information.
Missing information
He argued that the missing information was the main reason the book caused a controversy in Turkey. "In the 1916 printing of the book, some parts were censored knowingly and Pencere Publishing preferred to print the book in that format," said Sarafian.
"Let us not forget, in those years, the witnesses of the events were still alive and their names were kept secret in order not to endanger their safety. Otherwise, they would become targets. But we do not have to hide that information anymore because they are no longer alive," he said. A total of 550 copies of the book were sent to Parliament before the launch, said Ragıp Zarakolu, the owner of the Belge Publishing, but were not distributed.