Public Forum with Ara Sarafian – “A Perspective of Turkish Denialism (1980-2010)”

GLENDALE, CA — The Turkish authorities launched a new strategy to deny the Armenian Genocide in the 1980s. The strategy appeared in a piecemeal fashion which faltered many times. However, its failures were not exploited by its opponents and the strategy is still in place today.
To address this topic, the Armenian Council of America (ACA) has invited historian Ara Sarafian to be the speaker at its public forum entitled “A Perspective of Turkish Denialism (1980-2010)”. The event will be held on Tuesday, November 16, at 8:00 p.m., at the Glendale Public Library located at 222 East Harvard Street , Glendale , California .
Sarafian will be analyzing his subject in four sections:
(a) Present a chronology of the new Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide (1980-2010)
(b) Identify the main arguments at the core of the Turkish position
(c) Discuss the exposure of these arguments to refutation
(d) Consider practical “counter strategies” that extract a price for this denial
Ara Sarafian is an archival scholar specializing in late Ottoman and modern Armenian history. He received a B.A. in Russian studies and politics from the University of Wales ( Swansea) , and an M.A. in history from the University of Michigan ( Ann Arbor) , where he was a Ph.D. candidate. He is the founding director of the Gomidas Institute in London , which undertakes research and publishes books related to modern Armenian history. The Institute is best known for its work documenting the Armenian Genocide.
Sarafian is best known for his critical publication of “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916”, commonly known as the Blue Book (originally published in 1916 by British historians Lord James Bryce and Arnold Toynbee). This work was recently translated and printed in Turkey by the Gomidas Institute. Sarafian has also worked extensively in Turkey, including at the Turkish Prime Minister’s Ottoman Archives (Istanbul), together with Hilmar Kaiser. He was also the co-editor of Armenian Forum: A Journal of Contemporary Affairs. Some of his publications include:
Days of Tragedy in Armenia : Personal Experiences in Harpoot, 1915-1917
The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916: Documents Presented to Viscount Grey of Falloden by Viscount Bryce (Uncensored Edition),
United States Official Records on the Armenian Genocide 1915-1917
United States Diplomacy on the Bosphorus: The Diaries Of Ambassador Morgenthau 1913-1916
Diaries of a Danish Missionary: Harpoot, 1907-1919
“Aghtamar: A Jewel of Medieval Armenian Architecture”, a bilingual Turkish and English book, was launched in Van on September 17th and in Istanbul on September 21st. This work was a co-publication between Gomidas Institute ( London ) and Birzamanlar Yayincilik ( Istanbul ) and introduced Turkish readers to Armenian scholarship on Aghtamar and its 10th century Church of the Holy Cross (Surp Khach).
For more information, please contact:
818-545-9049; info@armneiancouncil.org