Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Armenian, Turkish Historians Start Dialog On Armenian Genocide in Germany
by RFE/RL Armenia Report, March 23, 2001
Posted: Friday, March 30, 2001 02:39 am CST

Turkish and Armenian historians were convening today in Germany for the start of a three-day conference on the massive killing of Armenians during Ottoman rule early in the 20th century.

The meeting in the town of Muelheim-an-der-Ruhr marks the first time Turkish and Armenian historians are formally meeting to discuss the tragic events of the years 1915-1918.

In a cautiously worded mission statement, the organizers of the conference say they are "bringing together Turkish and Armenian Historians in order to analyze and discuss the events in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1918: deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians, massacres, forced conversions.

The organizers also hope that the dialog may contribute to process of understanding and reconciliation between Armenian and Turkish people. The conference was sponsored by German-Armenian Society and the German-Turkish Association for Exchange in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Prof. Richard Hovhanessian of University of California will lead the group of the Armenian Historians and Prof. Halil Berktay of Istanbul University will lead Turkish historians at the unprecedented meeting.

The Armenians say 1.5 million of their kin living under Ottoman rule were massacred as part of a genocidal campaign orchestrated by the Young Turk government.

Turkey says hundreds of thousands of both Armenians and Turks were killed during what it describes as domestic unrest under wartime conditions. Ankara has always rejected the genocide charge.

Earlier this year, France adopted a law recognizing the 1915 killing as genocide, triggering a wave of public outcry in Turkey.

(Gohar Gasparian-Germany, Mulheim an der Ruhr)

Related Information...

Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives