Documentary series sheds light on 1915 events

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

A recently filmed documentary series on the events of 1915 reveals what a senior Turkish historian characterized as propaganda by the Armenian diaspora to paint a false picture of what happened to Armenians during that period in the Ottoman Empire.

“We have prepared a fact-based documentary series which summarizes the subject very well,” Refik Turan, head of Turkish Historical Society, said on April 25.

The seven-part documentary, titled “The Armenian Revolt,” comes at a time when international attention on the events of 1915 is at a peak. Turan said recognition and commemoration of the events as a “genocide” by a number of countries, including France, Italy and the Netherlands, have fueled interest in that historical period, which has great pertinence to Turkey.

Turan said that the series shows that the Armenian diaspora has used “fake and distorted documents” over the last century to support what he described as fallacious propaganda activities.

“The documentary series details the formation of separatist Armenian organizations and their transformation into internal security problems in the Ottoman [Empire] through the support of various international actors,” he said.

The series will be broadcast in English, German, French and Spanish.

Turkey’s official position on the events of 1915 is that some Armenians in eastern Anatolia sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. Turkey objects to the presentation of the Armenian casualties during a subsequent relocation as “genocide,” describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered and died.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey, Armenia and the international community to discuss the dispute.