Scientific conference titled “Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy” was held in the Bilgi University last week. In the opinion of many exerts, it can give start to the discussion of the Armenian issue by the Turkish society. “We should try to realize what happened in 1915”, well known Turkish historian Halil Bektay stated adding that at the beginning of the World War I the leaders of the Ottoman Empire announced the hunting season against Armenians. In his turn historian Fikret Adanir stated that the carnages of Armenians at the beginning of the 20-th century are nothing but genocide. “It is my personal opinion”, he said. “This conference will surprise Armenians all over the world. Now some of them will have the courage to start dialogue with Turks”, Los Angeles Times writes citing editor-in-chief of Akos Armenian newspaper published in Istanbul. To remind, the conference has been twice postponed, last time on Thursday, September 22 by a resolution of a Turkish court. It should be also noted that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the court resolution and called it incompatible with the norms of democracy and civilized society. Spokesperson for the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Krisztina Nagy characterized the court decision as a «recurrent provocation».
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