Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ISTANBUL504
2006-04-05 08:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Consulate Istanbul
Cable title:  

ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY ARMENIAN CONFERENCE: A SMALL

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM TU AM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2661
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHIT #0504/01 0950835
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 050835Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4578
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000504 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM TU AM
SUBJECT: ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY ARMENIAN CONFERENCE: A SMALL
STEP FORWARD?

REF: 05 ISTANBUL 1680

Classified By: U.S. Consul General Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000504

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM TU AM
SUBJECT: ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY ARMENIAN CONFERENCE: A SMALL
STEP FORWARD?

REF: 05 ISTANBUL 1680

Classified By: U.S. Consul General Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: A March 15-17 conference at Istanbul
University brought defenders of the official Turkish
narrative on the events of 1915-16 together with a handful of
more independent voices, including Israeli and Armenian
presenters, who openly used the term "Armenian Genocide."
The conference -- organized by the former group who argued
their views were excluded from last fall's "Alternative
Armenian Conference" -- received mixed reviews. Some
observers saw nothing new, while others considered this a
small step toward increased dialogue and tolerance of diverse
views. The publisher of an Armenian-language weekly chose
not to participate, but acknowledged that conference
organizers were using new language in their approach; he sees
an overall "softening" of attitudes. End Summary.


2. (U) Istanbul University (IU) convened a three-day
conference March 15-17 to examine "New Approaches in
Turkish-Armenian Relations." IU, a state institution, had
announced its intent to organize the conference following
last September's "Alternative Armenian Conference" hosted by
Bilgi University (ref A),claiming the Bilgi conference was
one-sided in its omission of speakers supporting official
views on the events of 1915-16, and thus not illustrative of
true academic freedom.

A Few Independent Voices...
--------------


3. (SBU) The conference's opening session featured a
presentation by Israeli researcher Yair Auron, who referred
to the historical authenticity of the "Armenian Genocide" and
called on Turks to re-examine their past; a London-based
Armenian researcher, Ara Sarafian, referred to "genocide" on
a subsequent day. Moreover, publications outlining Armenian
historical claims were reportedly available at the conference
hall.

...But Traditional Ones Dominate
--------------


4. (SBU) Most of the first days' remarks, however, followed
a line more in tune with the official Turkish version of

events, for example:

-- Turkish History Institute Chairman Yusuf Halacoglu
reportedly told the audience that "Forty million people died
during WWI. The total loss of the Ottomans was three
million. The number of Armenians who died as a result of
attacks was between 6,500 and 8,500."

-- Professor Hikmet Ozdemir of the Turkish History
Institute's Armenian Studies Center claimed that 30,000 Turks
were killed before February 1915 in skirmishes between
Armenian militants and soldiers, prior to any deportations.
It was a "big tragedy," he continued, but not a decision made
with the aim of the Turkification of Anatolia.

-- Associate Professor Yusuf Sarinay, General Director of the
State Archives, asserted that between 1890 and 1914 there
were more than 40 revolts by Armenian militants who, because
they were not in the majority anywhere, tried to become a
majority by killing Muslims or forcing them to migrate.

-- IU Rector Mesut Parlak reportedly equated use of the term
"genocide" to political fanaticism.

Mixed Assessments
--------------


5. (C) In a recent column, Etyen Mahcupyan -- Turkish
Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) staffer,
Radikal newspaper columnist, and participant in the Bilgi
conference -- wrote that the IU conference simply parroted
official positions, adding that the media and popuation at
large hardly paid attention to the confrence because people
were fed up with hearing the same old song and dance. Other
assessments, while more positive were nonetheless mixed.
Professor Israel Charny, who supports claims of genocide and
participated on the conference's closing panel, expressed
relief at not having been harassed during the event, pleasure
at the progress his participation at such a conference
represented, and sadness at the "shallowness and
intellectual/ethnic bigotry of so many presentations."
Several participants in an Armenian issues listserve formed

ISTANBUL 00000504 002 OF 002


after the Bilgi conference agreed that the mere presence at
the conference of the five speakers contradicting official
views was "something unexpected, even by the ones who invited
them."


6. (C) Hrant Dink, publisher of the Armenian language
newspaper Agos, though listed in the conference program as a
panelist, told us March 22 he had decided not to participate
after learning that two (Armenian) Turks with whom he did not
wish to appear would be at the same event. He also expressed
disdain for the "show" made of an Armenian chorus singing the
national hymn at the conference's opening. That said, Dink
praised the presence of independent voices at the conference,
and noted that even some of those espousing the traditional
Turkish narrative on the 1915 events were using new and
different language, including proposals inviting both sides
to "study together."

A Softening of Attitudes?
--------------


7. (C) Dink also told us Kanal Turk was planning to air the
film Ararat in early April, with a panel discussion to
follow. The film, which includes claims of genocide and was
directed by Atom Egoyan, a Canadian of Armenian origin,
caused a stir in 2004, when the Belge Film company backed
down from screening it in Turkey, despite GOT offers to
deploy police in front of theaters to guarantee security.
(Note: We have not been able to independently confirm
whether it will be aired. Kanal Turk's website currently
shows an on-line survey asking viewers whether or not it
should be broadcast and 70 percent of the 8790 respondents to
date say "no." End note.)


8. (C) Overall, Dink estimates there is a "softening" of
attitudes in all quarters, including among diaspora Armenians
with whom he visited recently in the United States. He
visited a bi-communal group of scholars in Michigan, and
challenged them to come to Turkey and do some of the same
work here. Dink, who travels often to Europe, claimed that
attitudes of diaspora Armenians in Europe were harsher than
those in the U.S. In the U.S., he said, they have one big
project each year: the resolution. In Europe, however, they
are energized and more "alert" due to Turkey's EU accession
process.

Small steps, but in a forward direction...
--------------


9. (C) Comment: That supporters of the genocide allegations
were able to participate unmolested in a mainstream academic
setting and receive generally straightforward media coverage
is a positive development in the public debate on the history
of that period. The nuanced change in approach on the part
of die-hard genocide denialists, no matter how small, is
noteworthy. Hrant Dink's overall optimism and observation
that attitudes on all sides are softening is also of
interest, particularly given his extensive contact with
Armenians in Turkey, the rest of Europe and the United
States. End comment.
JONES