Press

Reading Zabel Yessayan as Never Before in a New Edited Collection Inbox books 03 May 2023

Nora Vosbigian
Gomidas Institute is pleased to announce the publication of a probing, cutting edge work on Zabel Yessayan as an Ottoman Armenian writer, social critic, and political activist. This is an incisive work, as Nanor Kebranian she takes issue with the extant historiography on Yessayan and adds new, original translations for our consideration.


Read more »
Project Kharpert 2022 17 September 2022

by Nora Vosbigian


Remembering the Armenians of Kharpert. 

Read more »
New GI USA Branch Announced 03 January 2018

by Gomidas Institute Staff (London and Cleveland)

The Gomidas Institute is pleased to commence 2018 by announcing the establishment of a new United States branch of our organisation in the Northeastern US city of Cleveland.

Painting: Terminal Tower, Downtown Cleveland by Berdj Gumushdjian (1915-2010), 1984.

Read more »
A Process of Reconciliation : Kurds, Armenians, and Turks Discuss the Legacy of the Armenian Genocide 20 September 2016

Report by Nora Vosbigian

(Photo: At
the ruins of St. Sarkis church, Diyarbakir: Kurdish politicians and activists praying for the victims of the Armenian Genocide, 24 April 2015.)

Read more »
An Eye-Opener 21 October 2015

A Prodding and Contentious Work on the Armenian Genocide.

Anoush Melkonian (London)

Read more »
Karen Jeppe and Armenians: An Interview with Prof. Jonas Kauffeldt 01 February 2016

Nora Vosbigian (London)

Jonas Kauffeldt is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Georgia and a relative newcomer to the Armenian world. His recent translation of Karen Jeppe’s Danish book, Misak: An Armenian Life (Gomidas Institute, 2015) is a masterful work and includes a fascinating 70 page introduction by Kauffeldt.

Read more »
British Parliamentary Blue Book on Armenian Genocide Sent to the Turkish Parliament for a Second Time 22 February 2013

Nora Vosbigian (London)


The Gomidas Institute and the Turkish Human Rights Association remind the Turkish Grand National Assembly that the latter still owes an explanation for its 2005 allegations against the British Parliament and the Armenian Genocide thesis.

Read more »
Besmirching Armenians 21 March 2013

Anush Melkonian (London)

London was the venue for a conference sponsored by the Federation of Turkish Associations UK. The event took place in an auditorium hired at the London School of Economics by the sponsors. The thrust of the meeting was the vilification of Armenians and the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Read more »
Armenian Genocide Commemoration, Turkey, 2013 15 April 2013

Forthcoming programme for the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Diyarbekir (April 2013).

Read more »
Diyarbakir Bar Association, Mayor's Office and Gomidas Institute Commemorate Armenian and Assyrian Genocide (23 April 2013) 28 April 2013

Notes on the Gomidas Institute's activities in Turkey April 20-25 with a focus on the Diyarbakir commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and the Seyfo.

Read more »
Remembering the Armenians of Bitlis 24 February 2014

EXHIBITION: BITLIS ARMENIANS - SERGİ: BİTLİS ERMENİLERİ

Tatvan Kültür Sarayı, Kültür Mah. Bitlis Yolu, Tatvan, TURKEY

1-2 March, 2014
1-2 Mart, 2014


PRESS RELEASE (pdf) - BASIN BÜLTENİ (pdf)

Read more »
A Ground-Breaking Turkish Conference : The Social and Economic History of Mardin Region, 1838-1938 09 November 2012

Fulya Burke (Mardin)

A truly international and interdisciplinary cutting-edge programme, with the participation of leading Armenian, Assyrian, Turkish and Kurdish scholars.

Read more »
Closer Cooperation between Armenians and Assyrians 11 December 2012

Executive Board, Assyrian American Association of San Jose

Seyfo Centre USA hosted a series of educational lectures in Los Angeles, San Diego, Turlock and San Jose on the Assyrian-Armenian Genocide and Seyfo in 1915. The lectures were organized with the help of local Assyrian American organizations, and given by the British-Armenian historian, Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute, London).

Read more »
California Welcomes Ara Sarafian 30 November 2012

By Noray Betbaba (Seyfo Centre, USA)

Invited to speak to a number of Assyrian communities, Ara Sarafian outlines his understanding of the Seyfo, and its relationship to the Armenian Genocide.

Read more »
Ottoman Destruction of Three Christian Communities a Homogenization Process 06 March 2012

Joseph Haweil (Assyrian International News Agency)

An interview with Ara Sarafian about Armenian historiography and the Seyfo.

Read more »
Barlow Der Mugrdechian, William Saroyan and American-Armenian Writers 05 July 2012

Nora Vosbigian (London)

A short report on a presentation at SOAS and an interview with one of the leading scholars in Armenian Studies today. Barlow Der Mugrdechian is the backbone of the Armenian Studies Programme at California State University (Fresno).

Read more »
97 Years Later, On the Road to Ayash 23 April 2012

Pinar Ogunc (Radikal)

A Turkish journalist accompanies Ara Sarafian to Ayas, on the trail of Armenian political prisoners who disappeared in 1915.

Read more »
24 Nisan 1915'te Ne Oldu? 29 May 2012

Ara Sarafian (Agos)

Türkiye’de resmi tarihçiler 24 Nisan 1915’te ne yaşandığı konusunda yayınlar yapmaya devam ediyorlar. Bunun son örneklerinden biri, Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürü Yusuf Sarınay’ın İngilizce yayımladığı bir makale. Bu makaleye göre, 24 Nisan’da tutuklanıp sürgüne gönderilenlerin tamamı komitacıydı, başlarına kötü bir olay gelmedi ve 1918’de savaş bittikten sonra da serbest kalıp evlerine döndüler.

For English version of this artice...

Read more »
Aghtamar Book Launched in Turkey 27 October 2010

Gomidas Institute releases a remarkable book in Van on the Armenian heritage of the region.

Read more »
Interview with Ara Sarafian 30 June 2012

Nouvelles d’Armenie, (July 2012, number 187)

This interview was originally published in the French Armenian journal, Nouvelles d’Armenie. Its focus was on the official Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide, alternative voices in Turkey, and the possibilities of taking the Armenian Genocide debate to Turkey.

Read more »
Talaat Pasha's Report on Armenian Genocide Launches in Istanbul 29 September 2011

"Talaat Pasa Report on the Armenian Genocide" or "Talat Paşa'nın Ermeni Soykırımı Raporu" presents a great challenge to deniers of the Armenian Genocide. Since the publication of this work, official Turkey has remained silent over its content. Yet Sarafian's work argues for the authenticity of the document,  as well as the significance of its content in light of the available Ottoman record in Turkey.

Read more »
Talaat Pasha’s report is the official view of the Armenian Genocide according to Ottoman records 17 July 2011

Mediamax interview with Ara Sarafian

"Talaat Pasha's Report on the Armenian Genocide, 1917” was published by the Gomidas Institute in April 2011. As the title implies, it is an appraisal of a report that was found in Talaat Pasha's private papers and published by the Turkish journalist and popular historian Murat Bardakci. According to Sarafian, Bardakci's analysis of Talaat's report was limited and did not reflect the true content of the original document. Sarafian draws on Ottoman records to verify the authenticity of the 1917 document and interpret its content. He argues that the 1917 report was actually a special assessment of the Armenian Genocide.  Mediamax talked to Ara Sarafian.

Read more »
Aghtamar Book Launched in Turkey 29 September 2010

Ayda Muftuoglu

Aghtamar: A Jewel of Medieval Armenian Architecture
, a bilingual Turkish and English book, was launched in Van on September 17th and in Istanbul on September 21st. A co-publication between Gomidas Institute (London) and Birzamanlar Yayincilik (Istanbul), this work presented Turkish audiences with a fascinating history of Aghtamar and its 10th century Church of the Holy Cross (Surp Khach). The book was introduced by Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute) and Osman Koker (Birzamanlar Yayincilik).

Read more »
Turkish Translation of 1916 Blue Book Due to be Released in Ankara 23 June 2010

Nora Vosbigian

On Fri., June 26, the Turkish edition of the 1916 "Blue Book,” titled The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-16, will be released in Ankara by Lord Avebury and Ara Sarafian. The event is sponsored by the Turkish Human Rights Association (Ankara) and the Freedom of Thought Association.

Read more »
British Foreign Policy, the Katyn Massacre (1940), and the Armenian Genocide (1915) 08 March 2010

Anush Melkonian

A retired British diplomat raises eyebrows at the London School of Economics following the screening of a new documentary, "The Blue Book", on the Armenian Genocide.

Read more »
A Scholarly Workshop in Istanbul Focuses on Adana Massacres of 1909 13 November 2009

Armenian Reporter

Istanbul, Turkey.
- Sabanci University in Istanbul on November 6 and 7 hosted a major international workshop titled, "Adana 1909: History, Memory, and Identity from a Hundred Year Perspective." Scholars from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Turkey participated in the workshop, which was co-sponsored by the Gomidas Institute (London), Sabanci University, the International Hrant Dink Foundation, and the history departments of Istanbul Bilgi University and Bogazici University

Read more »
Turkish Grand National Assembly Blocks Distribution of Genocide Books to Members 07 August 2009

Ayse Gunaysu

Armenian Weekly columnist reports from Istanbul on yet another effort by the Turkish Grand National Assembly to stifle discussion about the ‘Blue Book’.  The saga continues as Turkish authorities shun dialogue
and avoid explaining their own spurious allegations.

Read more »
Turkey and the Armenian Genocide 01 September 2008

Nouvelles d'Armenie (September 2008)

The following interview with Ara Sarafian was originally published in the French Armenian journal, Nouvelles d’Armenie. Its focus was on Sarafian's work and the opportunities of engaging the Armenian Genocide issue in Turkey today.

[Original interview in English]

Read more »
Why do Armenians Commemorate 24 April 1915 24 April 2008

Ara Sarafian
Bilgi University, Istanbul
Armenian Genocide Commemoration
24 April 2008

Read more »
Study the Armenian Genocide with Confidence, Ara Sarafian Suggests 16 December 2008

Armenian Reporter

Below is a letter to the editor from Ara Sarafian, historian and director of the Gomidas Institute. The letter was writte as a response to an article that appeared in the Turkish Daily Hurriyet, in which his views were not properly represented. Sarafian's response touches on several important issues related to scholarship and the study of the Armenian Genocide.

Read more »
Var Denen O Belgeler Nerede? 01 May 2007

Ermeni araştırmacı Ara Sarafyan ve Türk Tarih Kurumu Başkanı Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halaçoğlu'nun "Ermeni Soykırımı" iddialarını ortak araştırma çabası suya düştü. Yeni Aktüel'e konuşan Sarafyan'a göre neden, Halaçoğlu'nun "Harput'la ilgili belgelerin yok edildiğini" açıklaması… Halaçoğlu ise "Araştırma diaspora baskısından yürütülemedi" diyor.

Read more »
A Time to Act: What will become of Varak Monastery after the recent earthquake? 01 February 2011

By Ara Sarafian

Varak Monastery, near Van, was one of the great monastic centres of the Armenian church. Its main structure was built at the end of the 10th century. Much of the monastery was destroyed in 1915, a significant part was destroyed in the 1960s, while good sections have just barely survived until our days. In recent years, busloads of tourists have visited Varak as a place of historic interest. Many have been Armenian, but also Germans, Japanese, Italians and Americans.

Read more »
An interview with Ara Sarafian - Turkish Review VIRGUL- Issue 95 - May 2006 01 May 2006

Virgul,

The following interview was given to Virgul, following the Istanbul Conference on The Future of Turkish Armenian Relations. Sarafian was one of the few diaspora-Armenians who participated at the conference, where he gave a paper on the British Parliamentary Blue Book and the Armenian Genocide.

Read more »
London Lecture: A New Turkish Project on Aghtamar Island? 13 March 2007

Anush Melkonian
The Armenian Community (UK)

The recent restoration and rebuilding of Sourp Khach (Holy Cross) Church on Aghtamar island has raised many questions about the Turkish government's purpose. The Gomidas Institute has initiated an independent assessment of the different issues involved.

Read more »
At the House of Lords, the Armenian Genocide is Back on the Table 27 January 2001

Nora Vosbigian, London

Ben Whitaker, Lord Avebury Speak Out

LONDON—Eighty-four years after it released a book at the House of Lords telling the world about the Armenian Genocide, the British government has excluded Armenians from a commemoration of Holocaust and Genocide Day that it has planned for 27 January 2001. And, so, the House of Lords was chosen as the site for the launch of a new edition of the government’s 1916 Blue Book.

Read more »
The Blackest Page in History 08 April 2005

Review essay by Yair Auron (Haaretz)

These diaries and memos help set the record straight concerning what the U.S. government knew about the Armenian genocide. Hence their importance for understanding this horrific tragedy and the circumstances that made it possible.

Read more »