EMRE CAN DAĞLIOĞLU

The victory YPG and Burkan al-Furat won in the Tell Abyad region of Syria has become a topic of broad debate both because of the refuge influx into Turkey, and the heavy defeat suffered by ISIS. We talked with HDP Mardin MP Mithat Sancar, who follows developments in the region closely, about the importance of saving Tell Abyad from ISIS, and the accusations directed at YPG.

Interior Ministry permission has been imposed on any academic research on Syrian refugees to be carried out at universities. The Higher Education Council (YÖK) decision was taken upon the request of the Migration Administration Department of the Interior Ministry.

In 1913, Mehmet Reşid was appointed governor of Karesi, a region that could almost be described as the testing ground of the Armenian Genocide. Reşid Bey played a significant role in the forced deportation of Greeks from the region, and this ‘success’ brought him the rank of the General Secretary of the General Inspectorate for the provinces of Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir and Mamuretülaziz. He was appointed to this post because Interior Minister Talaat Pasha considered him “active, competent and patriotic”.

İstanbul Bilgi University has made a statement regarding the blocking of the conference titled “The Armenian Genocide: Concepts and Comparative Perspectives” planned to be held at the university on April 26.

The conference titled “The Armenian Genocide: Concepts and Comparative Perspectives” jointly organized by Istanbul Bilgi University, the History Foundation [Tarih Vakfı] and UCLA is being prevented from taking place.

The appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding Sevan Nişanyan’s cases for opposition to the Code of Protection of Cultural and Natural Properties for which he received long term prison sentences has been rejected. The next legal step is the ECHR.

Previously unreleased historical documents on the Armenian Genocide from the archives of the Vatican are being unveiled. The documents published in the periodical La Civiltà Cattolica provide significant information regarding the diplomatic attempts and aid work carried out by the Vatican during and after the Armenian Genocide.

The guest on March 5 of the Thursday Talks organized by the History Foundation was Nevzat Onaran. Onaran presented a speech titled ‘The Code of 1915: Emval-i Metruke/Abandoned Properties’ and we talked to him about the continuity of the economic policy based on liquidification, and the laws that enabled that continuity.

Although Palestinian refugees from Syria are, like Syrian citizens, under temporary protection, the visa-free entry clauses Turkey applies to Syrian citizens are not valid for Palestinian refugees.

The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has now ventured into the “Armenian Question”. On February 14, the Municipal Council issued a decision to purchase books and brochures on the “Armenian Question” to be distributed to various institutions.