Melville House Books

Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial

The Armenian Weekly reports that this Friday, June 26th, a Turkish translation of the much contested “Blue Book,” the famous 1916 report by the British government entitled, The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-16 , will be published in Ankora by Lord Avebury and Ara Sarafian under the sponsorship of the Turkish Human Rights Association (Ankara) and the Freedom of Thought Association.

This is a new critical and uncensored edition with an introduction by Ara Sarafian. The book includes eyewitness accounts from United States and British consular and missionary sources, as well as the testimony of German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Greek, Kurdish, and Armenian witnesses. Many of the names and places that were left blank in the original account as a means to safeguard the identities of the informants, have been filled in. It is available from Garod Books as part of the Gomidas Institute’s Armenian Genocide Documentation Project.

According to the Weekly, “The central thesis of the Blue Book was the argument that starting in 1915, Armenians were subject to a policy of mass annihilation in the Ottoman Empire.” The original account was meticulously compiled and edited by James Bryce and the distinguished editor Arnold Toynbee, and was published by the British Parliament.

The Weekly states that Turkey had petitioned the British government in 2005, “contesting the veracity of the 1916 British Parliamentary ‘Blue Book.’†It goes on to explain that “Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, Lord Biffen, and Lord Avebury organized a meeting in Westminster for British parliamentarians to respond to a petition.”

After investigating the Turkish government’s claims of inaccuracy, the MP’s determined that the book was indeed accurate. The Weekly reports, “The British MPs concluded that the Turkish Grand National Assembly members must not be aware of the actual content of the Blue Book, nor the archival trail associated with it. In order to facilitate better understanding and reflection, it was suggested that the Gomidas Institute undertake the Turkish translation of their uncensored edition of the Blue Book, which was replete with discussion and full archival references.”

With the help of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Gomidas Institute, the Turkish Human Rights Association (Ankara) and the Freedom of Thought Association, the book will now be available not only to the Turkish Grand National Assembly members, but to a general readership in Turkey. It is hoped that this expanded readership will allow Turkish readers a chance to evaluate the Blue Book on its own merits.

Valerie Merians is the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.