438) Sarafian: UK to Give Unofficial Reply About Letter on Blue Book

British historian Ara Sarafian of Armenian descent, whose forefathers emigrated from Turkey, disclosed that British deputies will give an unofficial reply to the Turkish Parliament’s letter about the Blue Book. . .
Sarafian who in 2000 published the “Blue Book” written by James Bryce and Arnold Toynee in 1916 about the treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, will in the second edition reveal the names of those that had remained a secret in the first edition.

Sarafian, speaking to Zaman in London, said he had to deal with the issue again following the Turkish parliament’s letter, adding that he had found this letter to be “both strange and embarrassing” for Turkey. Sarafian, who had conducted a study in the Turkish prime ministry archives on three occasions, accepts that the British use the Blue Book for propaganda purposes; however, he says that the book’s claims is completely true. According to Sarafian, there are two issues on the agenda related to the letter. He claims that the first issue is an academic one and it has been solved with the latest edition published. The second issue relates to how the British parliament will respond to Turkey’s letter. Emphasizing that he is not involved in the political side of the issue, Sarafian said the British parliament will not give an official response to Turkey’s letter. Claiming that the British parliament wants to cover up the letter, noting that the letter was not even forwarded to British deputies, Sarafian defended that the letter had placed the UK in a difficult position, having worked to repair Turkey’s image in Europe. He thinks that some parliamentary members will offer an unofficial reply to Turkey’s letter about the Blue Book. “As far as I understand, both Turkish and British governments want the issue to be closed; however, at such a time, it is expected that some of Turkish deputies may show up and say, ‘you see, they could not give us an answer, we were right’”. I don’t think there will be an official reply on behalf of parliament, however a small group of deputies dealing with the issue will likely reply.”

Sarafian claims, the fact that the Blue Book is used for propaganda purposes, does not mean that it is fabrication. “You believe that Armenians carried out the Hocali massacre and Turkey uses this as a propaganda tool. Does this mean that the Hocali massacre did not happen?” Sarafian asks. He said that he was amazed by Turkey’s letter and suggested that Turkish deputies selected the wrong target. “These kinds of claims came to agenda in the US in 1980s. After which time, I published the Blue Book again, along with a criticism, and included the source of information clearly in the book’s footnotes. What amazes me most of all is the fact that Turkish deputies have returned to the claims of 20 years ago,” Sarafian acknowledged.

After Turkey sent the letter to the British parliament about the Blue Book, Lord Avebury, Sandwell Lord Archer and Lord Biffen from the House of the Lords along with British historian Ara Sarafian started a campaign on October 12 and defended that the letter should be responded to.

By Selcuk Gultasli
November 05, 2005
zaman.com
Brussels