US embassy cable - 05ISTANBUL1804

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001804 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, TU, AM, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: ARMENIAN CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS DEBRIEF STEVEN 
SOLARZ 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 1680 
 
     B. YEREVAN 1479 
     C. 04 ISTANBUL 1074 
 
Classified By: Consul General Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Three organizers of the recent "Alternative 
Armenian Conference" here (ref A) told former U.S. 
Congressman and GOT consultant Steven Solarz October 7 that 
the watershed conference would embolden students to pursue 
more serious and objective research on the topic.  They 
averred - largely on the basis of anecdotal evidence and 
contrary to Solarz's understanding - that Talat Pasha's 
orders to deport and kill Armenians pre-dated by several 
months the murder of tens of thousands of Muslims by 
Armenians in the town of Van.  They suggested the richest 
source of archival materials on the 1915-16 events is the 
Dashnak archives in Boston, smuggled out of Armenia during 
the Soviet era and still closed to all except members of the 
Armenian Revolutionary, or "Dashnak" party.  End summary. 
 
Conference will Encourage Further Study 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  Organized by the Consulate at Solarz's request, the 
gathering included Sabanci University's Hakan Erdem and Aksin 
Somel, and Marmara University's Ayhan Aktar.  Solarz began by 
recounting his once having been hung in effigy on an Armenian 
parade float in the U.S. for his pro-Turkish views.  He then 
asked about the logistics behind the conference, its general 
content and conclusions.  Erdem noted that, contrary to some 
press accounts, speakers had represented a variety of 
viewpoints, with the vast majority concentrating on topics 
not directly related to the question of genocide.  Professor 
Somel, for example, focused on Armenian education. 
 
3.  (C)  The three scholars agreed that the conference marked 
a new beginning for scholarship on the topic.  Whereas 
graduate students in the past had avoided the sensitive 
issue, the conference would embolden them to pursue serious, 
objective and scholarly research.  Nonetheless, while 
archives in Turkey and Armenia are "technically" open to 
scholars, problems remain, cf. the recent arrest of a 
Q.S.-based Turki 
 scholar in Armenia.  (Note:  This 
particular arrest appears to have resulted from the scholar's 
inappropriate removal of archival materials (ref B).  End 
note.)  The scholars asserted that the richest source of 
materials is the Dashnak archives in Boston, smuggled out of 
Armenia during the Soviet era.  Those reportedly remain 
closed to all except members of the Armenian Revolutionary, 
or "Dashnak" party (Note: A political party active in Armenia 
and the dominant political organization in the Diaspora.  End 
note). 
 
Did They or Didn't They? 
------------------------ 
 
4.  (C)  Solarz focused mainly on the period 1915-16, and 
specifically on the question of "intent," i.e. whether or not 
it was the Ottoman government's intent to annihilate the 
entire Armenian population on the basis of ethnicity.  All 
three interlocutors cited testimonial evidence that 
then-Interior Minister Talat Pasha ordered governors via 
telegram to deport Armenians.  Unfortunately, they 
acknowledged, none of the actual telegrams had been found. 
Most governors reportedly complied with the deportation 
order; others resisted and were themselves replaced.  In very 
few instances (five to eight out of a total of several 
hundred), the Armenians were left in place because the 
governors refused to follow orders. 
 
5.  (C)  There is also evidence -- again, they conceded, 
largely anecdotal -- that Talat ordered the Committee of 
Union and Progress to kill Armenians, which was carried out 
with the help of the so-called "Special Organizations" 
(composed of recently-released criminals).  Hundreds of 
thousands of Armenians also died during or after deportation 
of hunger or disease.  Others, however, were saved by Syria's 
governor, Cemal Pasha, who ensured that at least some 
deportees were provided with food.  Contrary to Solarz' 
understanding that the Armenian deportations/killings 
followed the killing of tens of thousands of Muslims by 
Armenians in the town of Van, the three scholars concurred 
that Talat's orders were issued several months prior to the 
Van massacre. 
 
Why the Angst?  The EU Does It... 
--------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  Solarz asked why the Turkish government objects so 
strongly to a U.S. Congressional resolution -- especially one 
that was non-binding -- when the EU Parliament recently 
passed one that was barely noticed in Turkey.  Solarz 
emphasized that such a Congressional resolution would in no 
way reflect the views of the U.S. executive branch. 
According to Erdem, Europeans have been 
anti-Turkish/anti-Ottoman for centuries and the Turks have 
become inured to such an attitude.  Americans, by contrast, 
are considered more impartial, thus a U.S. resolution would 
be harder to take; the average Turk would not make the 
distinction between "official USG" and "Congressional" views. 
 
7.  (C)  Comment:  The question of "intent" is key for many 
in determining whether "genocide" properly describes the 
tragic events of 1915-16.  These Turkish (none of whom is an 
ethnic Armenian) scholars do allow for this intent, even as 
they acknowledge that it has not been documented.  The 
"smoking gun," if such a thing ever existed in the Ottoman 
archives, either has been purged or is among the thousands of 
documents to which access has been restricted (ref C). 
JONES