Esteemed Scholars,

As the 100th anniversary of the Dispatchment and Settlement Law of 1915 draws near, it is known that Turkey will come up against the “Armenian Genocide” claims as was the case in previous years. These claims and groundless genocide propagandas will be perpetrated and kept alive with even more intensity than is usual due to the 100th anniversary of the events.

In their current form, Armenian genocide claims are brought up by certain groups to create political pressure on Turkey by exploiting international public opinion. Through resolutions adopted in foreign countries’ parliaments at the initiatives of the Armenian diaspora and its supporters; attempts are made to have people accept the notion that the Ottoman State carried out a genocide policy against Armenians, and historical events are distorted by shifting them onto political grounds. Instead of being handled by politicians and political platforms, events that took place within a historical process should instead be analyzed and evaluated by scholars under the guiding light of historical documents, and within the framework of the academic criteria of historical research.

In order to evaluate and share information on the extremely important history of Turkish – Armenian relations and the repercussions of these relations on international politics, we cordially invite you esteemed scholars to the ‘Second International Symposium on Turkish-Armenian Relations and Great Powers in the 100th Anniversary of Dispatchment and Settlement Law‘ that will be held by our university’s Turkish -Armenian Relations Research Center Presidency on 6 – 8 May 2015.

Prof. Dr. Hikmet KOÇAK

Atatürk Üniversitesi Rektörü / Rector of Atatürk University