Ara Sarafian

Ara Sarafian

Sarafian at a meeting on Turkish politics in the UK parliament
Born Cyprus
Nationality British
Ethnicity Armenian
Alma mater University of Michigan

Ara Sarafian (Armenian: Արա Սարաֆեան) is a British historian of Armenian origin. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,[1] received under the tutelage of Ronald Grigor Suny.[2]

Sarafian is the founding director of the Gomidas Institute in London, which sponsors and carries out research and publishes books on modern Armenian and regional studies. Among the institute's book publications are English translations of Armenian texts related to the Armenian Genocide.[3] It also publishes the journal Armenian Forum. Additionally, Sarafian has published Talaat Pasha's report on the Armenian Genocide[4] and he has edited a critical edition 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),[5] as well as a Turkish edition of the book. He has also collaborated with the Hrant Dink Foundation.[6]

Research

Sarafian conducted research in the Ottoman Archives of the Turkish Government in the 1990s, together with Hilmar Kaiser.[7]

In February 2007, Sarafian accepted the suggestion of the then-chairman of the Turkish Historical Society, Yusuf Halaçoğlu, to cooperate on a joint project.[8] Sarafian later proposed a joint case study of "what happened on the Harput Plain" and "how many people died" during the deportations.[9][10]

A month later, Halaçoğlu announced that Sarafian has declined to carry out the study,[11] and added that Sarafian "was disturbed by the institute's initiative to study the archives of Tashnak, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation".[12] In an interview, Sarafian said Halaçoğlu's "explanation was not true because I had not said any such thing. The case study came to an end when Halacoglu stated that the relevant records, which he had initially agreed to use as the basis of the joint case study, were not available."[13] Halaçoğlu's choice to withhold archival records and pull out of the project was criticized at the time in the Turkish press.[14]

Sarafian has been the subject of two independent documentary films. The first film, Gagik Karagheuzian's The Blue Book, Political Truth or Historical Fact (2009), focused on Sarafian's work on the Blue Book. The second film, John Lubbock's 100 Years Later (2015), focused on Sarafian's work with Kurdish civil society organisations in Turkey around the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Maroot, Matthew (December 1997). "Sarafian Speaks on Kharpert Massacres". Hye Sharzhoom. California State University, Fresno. 19 (2). Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-08-30. Ara Sarafian received his M.A. in History from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
  2. ↑ Lima, Vincent (2008-01-07). "The Next 1.5 Million: A Panel Discussion on Armenian Studies in the United States". Armenian Forum. Gomidas Institute. 1 (1): 95–101. Retrieved 2008-09-01. The history chair, occupied until recently by Ronald Grigor Suny, has produced two scholars, Ara Sarafian and Vincent Lima.
  3. ↑ Tataryan, Hakop (October 2003). "Ara Sarafian Discusses Genocide Memoir To the Desert". Hye Sharzhoom. California State University, Fresno. 25 (1). Retrieved 2008-08-30. Ara Sarafian, an archival historian specializing in the late Ottoman Period, is one of the founders of the Gomidas Institute located in London, England. The Institute republishes English translations of works originally written in Armenian by those who experienced the Armenian Genocide first hand, materials that ordinarily would be cumbersome to obtain for present-day historians.
  4. ↑ Ara Sarafian, ed. (2011). Talaat Pasha's Report on the Armenian Genocide. London: Gomidas Institute. ISBN 978-1-903656-66-2.
  5. ↑ James Bryce; Arnold Toynbee (2000). Ara Sarafian, ed. The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916: Documents Presented to Viscount Grey of Falloden by Viscount Bryce. London: Taderon Press (Gomidas Institute). ISBN 0-9535191-5-5.
  6. ↑ Gomidas Institute Publications: Hrant Dink Foundation Books / Hrant Dink Vakfi Kitaplar
  7. ↑ Sarafian, Ara (Spring 1999). "The Ottoman Archives Debate and the Armenian Genocide" (PDF). Armenian Forum. 2 (1): 35–44. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Gomidas Institute Offer to Historians in Turkey: "Let's Undertake a Case Study of the Events of 1915"". Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Guvenc, Duygu (2007-02-22). "Turkish and Armenian historians are meeting at last". Turkish Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  10. ↑ "Armenian historian accepted suggestion of Turkish counterpart on joint work". PanARMENIAN.Net. 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  11. ↑ "Sarafian bows to diaspora pressure, says Halaçoğlu". Today's Zaman. 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  12. ↑ "TTK President Halaçoğlu responds to Sarafian's claims". Today's Zaman. 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  13. ↑ "Sarafian: Genocide deniers weaker today than ever" (PDF). Armenian Reporter. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  14. ↑ Birand, Mehmet Ali (14 March 2007). "Why do we invite them in the first place?". Turkish Daily News. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "100 Years Later : Dealing with the Legacy of 1915". Massis Post. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
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