On February 27, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) launched the Turkish version (www.turkish.armenian-genocide.org) of its widely used website documenting facts about and recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The website has over four million visits a year, and there is a large number of Turkish visitors. Since Turkey regularly censures foreign and local websites, and the English version of the website had been hacked by deniers, the Turkish version of the new website is designed in a way to provide wider Turkic-speaking audiences with the opportunity to visit the website in the Republic of Turkey or abroad. The Turkish version of the website will run parallel to most of the widely used functions of the website.

For the first stage, the Turkish-language website includes translations of the official documents of countries having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. The laws, resolutions and proclamations of countries having historically recognized the Armenian Genocide are now available in Turkish. Those documents include the Joint Declaration of the Allies (24 May 1915), which referred to crimes against humanity at a time when the genocide was being perpetrated, as well as current parliamentary resolutions, including the Resolution of the German Bundestag, which was passed last year, recognizes the historical events and acknowledges Germany’s liability. Earlier this month, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany confirmed the lawfulness of the Resolution.

“The Turkish version of ANI’s website is expected to promote dialogue, paving another path towards common understanding of the history and helping take another step towards reconciliation, with awareness of the consequences of the past, and moving towards the future where neighboring nations will live in peace,” President of the Armenian National Institute Van Grigoryan declared.

Readers in Turkey are also unaware of the extensive Turkish-language notes establishing the fact of the Armenian Genocide. In 2004, upon the assignment of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Committee, the discussions and legal analysis of the International Court of Transitional Justice (ICTJ) were published in Turkish. This led to the publication of several books, but there is a huge gap of resources for Turkic-speaking people. The Turkish version of the legal opinion of the ICTJ is available on the new website, which also features a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section and a photo gallery. In addition, the section of data of the encyclopedia of the Genocide regarding various areas of the Armenian Genocide is currently being launched.

The website will have new functions that will particularly interest Turkic-speaking readers. The Institute expects to expand the website in the same coordinated manner and with the same objective standards by which the website was launched. “Many brave individuals have spoken out, and some brave scholars have undertaken the initiative to conduct an innovative study documenting the Armenian Genocide based on official Ottoman Turkish documents. Despite the large-scale global debate over the historical importance of the Armenian Genocide and the melancholic precedent, there is a need for more progress in Turkey so that the Turks understand and cope with their own real history,” Grigoryan added, reported Ankakh.com. This policy continues to have a serious impact.

Recently, Turkish-Armenian MP Garo Paylan was punished by being suspended from three parliamentary sessions because he had dared to make a reference to Turkey for the consequences of the Armenian Genocide. His suspension in January almost coincided with the day marking the tenth anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink-a crime that remains unrevealed in various regards. Dink’s courage to raise awareness about the legacy of the Armenian Genocide encouraged many Turkish presses to reexamine the issue, and this frustrated ultra-nationalists, who took the issue to the legal level.

The new website also features the ANI map with notations in Turkish, as well as links to other well-known sections, i.e. digital samples and an online museum. Director of the Armenian National Institute, Dr. Ruben Adalyan has declared the following: “The launch of the Turkish-language website was made possible through the assistance and encouragement of numerous supporters, including translators, consultants and web designers, who helped make this information about the Armenian Genocide available for readers in Turkey and elsewhere. There will soon be new translations, and we expect to expand the website to show a tremendous amount of information about the Armenian Genocide that is already available on the website of the ANI.”