The first session, led by Christopher Walker, covered "Britain and the Armenian Question, 1878–1914." Walker gave a fascinating exposition of the development of British foreign policy towards the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian Question, pushing his analysis back into the late 18th century. Developing on his book, Armenia: Survival of a Nation (the relevant chapters were required reading for seminar participants), Walker discussed the "transglobal" context of British foreign policy. He argued that British commercial and other groups had a discernible sense of geopolitics as early as the 18th century, and he showed how such considerations shaped British policy from the 1790s.

Walker also focused on the "existential crisis" of Ottoman Turks, who identified themselves as a ruling military cast (ordu milleti), which consistently lost its wars for 300 years—including against its own vassals in Egypt, as well as armies commanded by Russian-Armenian generals in the Caucasus. Walker also discussed how the Ottoman Turks practiced "deniable massacres" in the 19th century with "irregular troops" (bashibozuks) as a way of enforcing their rule while dispelling foreign criticism against them in Europe. "It was very much like Latin American death squads today" Walker added.

In the second session, Ara Sarafian gave an exposition of the British government's knowledge of the Armenian Genocide in 1915. He argued that this question is highly significant because the British government denies the Armenian Genocide today. Pointing to the British parliamentary Blue Book, The Treatment of Armenian in the Ottoman Empire, as well as British archival records, Sarafian demonstrated that British authorities knew of the Armenian Genocide in unequivocal terms as early as 1916. He also cited British parliamentary debates to make his case. Sarafian is currently working on a critical volume on this subject, "British Parliamentary Debates and the Armenian Genocide 1915–1918."

The final presentation was by Hilmar Kaiser, who addressed the denial of the Genocide in a historical context. Kaiser focused on the genesis of the denial process in 1915 and identified the crucial role played by the Imperial German government. Kaiser, who introduced two of his own articles on the subject, also gave interesting insights into his current work on Armenian insurance claims against American and other insurance companies—and the latter's efforts at denying the genocide of Armenians for financial gain.

The three talks were well packaged for continuity and sustained discussion. Since participants were required to read a significant body of literature before attending each session (there was a course pack of readings and other materials provided), the talks and debates focused on substantial issues and went into great depth. The purpose was to attain this level of discussion and there were several key themes that came up persistently, including specific research strategies and the politics of academic research and publications.

Both Kaiser and Sarafian stressed the significance of pursuing serious research to address the Armenian Genocide issue. The historians praised the 2,000-strong Italian Armenian community for supporting methodical research on Armenian issues, including the publication of a documentary series (now in its third volume) based on Italian archival documents on the Armenian Question.

"We have a lot to learn from our Italian friends" said Sarafian, who has worked on the Italian project and now proposes a similar effort in the United Kingdom. "The British Armenian community could play a decisive role on the development of the Armenian Genocide issue. Historically Britain was such an important player in the Armenian Question that we are sitting on rich archival resources in this country of seminal importance."

Sarafian noted that the Gomidas Institute is developing a systematic research project for the collection and dissemination of British archival documents on the Armenian Question (1878–1914) and the Armenian Genocide (1915–23). "This promises to be the most important documentary series of its kind in the world," he added.

"I congratulate the Gomidas Institute for such a successful and informative seminar" said Dr. Rostom Stepanian, chairperson of the Campaign for the British Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (CRAG). "Such seminars are fundamental for the development of a new, informed generation dealing with the Armenian Genocide."

Indeed, the seminar was part of the Gomidas Institute's expanding programme in the United Kingdom and follows two photo exhibitions on Ottoman Armenians this year. "Britain is no longer a backwater in the Armenian Genocide debate" said Sarafian, who is director of the Gomidas Institute (UK). "The institute has been involved in developing a serious academic programme on the Genocide for a number of years. It is best known for its publications, though there is a lot more to it than that!" Sarafian noted that the institute has worked successfully with various Armenian and non-Armenian organizations in the United Kingdom, including the Committee for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The Gomidas Institute is a nonpartisan academic organization dedicated to the study of the modern Armenian experience. It is based in London (UK) and Princeton, NJ (USA).

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Last modified on 13 November 2007.