IGDIR - The massacre allegations of the Armenians have been disproved by academic researches.
According to foreign archives and documents, it is seen that more than 1 million 400 thousand Armenians who are claimed to face massacre during the World War I lived after the war.
A research, titled ''Armenians Who Migrated'' carried out by the Turkish History Authority (TTK) in the light of documents found from the archives in the United States, Britain, Geneva, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Russia, once more reveals that the massacre allegations of the Armenians are deceiving.
TTK Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu told A.A correspondent on Tuesday that they would show the public opinion with their academic work that the Armenian allegations were totally unfounded basing on the foreign archives and documents.
Halacoglu said that they started their research last August and they planned to complete it till the end of that year.
They were searching the places where the Armenians living in Ottoman territories migrated, Halacoglu noted.
Halacoglu recalled that they found 50-60 thousand microfilms and photocopies in the foreign archives regarding the issue.
''We have found the Armenian population living in the Ottoman territories before and after the World War I, the migration routes of the Armenians, the names of passengers of boats, migrant registration books, and the doctorate thesis of the Armenians. The research carried out in the light of all these documents will be turned into a book till the end of the year. We have searched objectively the archives in the United States, Britain, Geneva, Italy, France, Germany, Russia and Austria,'' Halacoglu said.
Halacoglu noted, ''we have proved that more than 1 million 400 thousand Armenians who are claimed to die so far did not face massacre and lived. We will put forth this reality.''
Drawing the attention that the majority of the Armenians who died in the World War I were the Armenians who fought among the ally armies as soldiers according to the documents of the League of Nations, Halacoglu said, ''there were Armenians who fought and died in the war. The number of the Armenians who fought and died in the war is around 200 thousand.''
Halacoglu said that the Armenian massacre allegations continued to increase and that in the first allegations, it was claimed that 600 thousand Armenians were killed.
That figure was increased to 800 thousand and then to 1.5 million later, Halacoglu stated.
Halacoglu said, ''in the end, it is claimed that 2 million Armenians were killed. We have once more revealed that these allegations are unfounded.''
TTK made the mass grave excavation in Igdir Tuzluca, Halacoglu stated.
Halacoglu pointed out that they would carry out a new excavation in Kars Derecik in June and they would continue to open the mass graves within the scope of a certain plan.
They would carry out excavations in a part of old Van city where the Armenians made the most destruction, Halacoglu said.
Halacoglu noted that the massacre made by the Armenians were being revealed by mass graves.
''However, the Armenians who are claimed to face massacre and the states who support the so-called genocide can't show a single mass grave belonging to the Armenians claimed to be killed. Therefore, it is seen that the issue is totally political,'' Halacoglu said.
Halacoglu stated that they would publish the book in Turkish, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Arabic, adding, ''this is not a book of propaganda. It will be a serious academic book.''
(BRC-ÖS) 27.05.2003