Turkish Historical Society Chairman Says He Can Provide Documents On How Armenians Massacred More Than 519,000 Turks

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Historical Society (TTK) Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu has stated that there is no document that could lead to accusation of Turkey with the so-called Armenian genocide. ''However, I can easily provide documents how 519,000 Turks were massacred by Armenians along with the names of villages these Turks lived in,'' said Halacoglu.
     Halacoglu remarked that the issue of the so-called Armenian genocide must be discussed extensively and in details by a committee of scholars from Turkey, Armenia, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia and the United States who will convene to study Russian, British, American, French and Armenian confidential and classified documents. ''Those who continuously talk about genocide should reveal what they had in their own archives. Lets see what they have in Hinchak archives. We will possibly see in that archive how the Armenians massacred Turks, and how they planned such brutal acts, and why they massacred Turks,'' told Halacoglu.
    
     -OTTOMAN ARCHIVES-
    
     Halacoglu said that they opened Ottoman archives and they even put it into internet. Halacoglu further expressed that based on their studies in the archives worldwide, they have not come across even with a single document that may prove Armenian claims of a genocide. ''Did the Armenians suffer difficulty which could be termed as a tragedy? Yes. Yet the Turks suffered more than the Armenians. The Muslims suffered a true tragedy. Armenians constantly claim that there was a genocide committed by Turks. We must note that the Armenians can not refer to any document which may prove that there was indeed a genocide. The bottom line is that the Armenians are lying.''
    
     -ATTITUDE OF FRANCE-
    
     Halacoglu said France refers to the incidents about Armenians in early 20th century as ''tragedy.'' ''How were relations between France and the Armenians at the time? How did France use and arm the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire against the Ottoman army? How many Armenian legionnaires were there in French Army? What was the birth places of those legionnaires? Were those people from Ottoman Empire or Armenia? What were French and Armenian ties during the Dardanelles wars? Who were the Armenians died between 1914-1918 for France?'' The beginning of discussions of the issue with France will also reveal the role France played in the ''tragedy'' of Armenians. ''If they trust themselves, they must speak about this issue as well.''
     Halacoglu stated that, in historical discussions, the documents submitted play a vital role in coming to conclusions. ''That's why they refrain from discussing it. The Armenians have no documents proving the so-called genocide and they are reluctant to join discussions on the so-called genocide of Armenians. The Armenians do not want to abandon the current political benefits of claiming that they suffered a genocide,'' said Halacoglu. ''Armenians are afraid of the consequences of a historical committee's conclusions. Having no document on a genocide, Armenians prefer to stay away from historical discussions of historians.''
     ''Currently, France attempts to please its domestic Armenian population by putting forward the issue continuously,'' he said, ''France promised Armenians in 1918 that it would strongly support an Armenian state in Cilicia and now it pays the price of this promise.''
    
     -ARMENIAN DOCTORS-
    
     Halacoglu told that Armenian claims that assert the use of Armenians as guinea-pigs in vaccination tests are also baseless. ''What will do Armenians do if I prove that half of the doctors conducting tests were of Armenian origin? What will be the Armenian reaction if I prove that Armenian doctors used Armenian patients as guinea-pigs?''
     Noting that there is no document that could lead Turkey's being accused with the so-called Armenian genocide, Halacoglu said: ''However, I can easily provide documents how 519,000 Turks were massacred by Armenians along with the names of villages these Turks lived in.''
     Halacoglu said that he could also prove that the officials claimed to misuse their authority were brought before Ottoman courts.
    
     -''WE'LL MAKE PUBLIC THE DOCUMENTS WE HAVE''-
    
     Halacoglu criticized the ''Armenian Genocide Museum'' Director's comments about the Turkish Historical Society that this society can not be trusted. ''It is not yet known whether the Armenian delegation will attend an upcoming meeting in Vienna in 2005. We find it hard to understand why the Armenians look at the TTK as untrustable. Of course, they do not have to believe us. We are not establishing a firm. We will just make a discussion with scientists. It is not so important if the scientists trust each other in a discussion. We will just speak on the documents that we put forward. Consequently, neither do I nor does he have to trust each other. We have to discuss this as scientists and civilized human beings without deviating from humanely values. We are always ready for such a discussion.''
     ''The meeting between Turkish and Armenian delegations were planned to be held in Vienna in 2005 after two processes of document exchange. But this meeting seems not certain. If they do not show up in this meeting, we will make public the documents we have.''
     (ES-A֩
2004-12-17