Armenians usually don't participate in such meetings. “The whole world accepts the genocide. Why should we open a case over something already accepted,” they usually asked. Sarafyan was very important in this respect. His visit was supposed to provide a huge boost to Turkey's call for historians focusing on the matter, discussing and debating it.

  Suddenly, we were all told the meeting was cancelled. Professor Halaçoðlu held a press conference and said Sarafyan had cancelled the trip, presenting an article in weekly AGOS that said the Armenian diaspora was furious about Sarafyan's trip. That was the reason of cancellation, he said.

  Now we learn from Altaylý that the real reason why the meeting was cancelled was very different. It appears Halaçoðlu refused to open the archives without limits and objected to presenting certain documents.

  What was this all about?

  If you were not going to show the documents, why would you ask for a meeting? Why do you organize such a meeting before agreeing on the conditions of opening of the archives? Why do you initiate a process you cannot go take to the finish?

  Turkey is already on the defensive on this issue and this latest development means another point scored against us. No one will ever believe Turkey when it proposes to open the archives and share all the documents so that historians can discuss the matter.

What law is that?:

  The Beykoz Municipality Committee voted for the demolition of Acaristanbul.

  This was a huge laugh from start to finish.

  Acaristanbul's construction has been going on for years. The Beykoz Municipality provided all the approvals necessary for the construction to proceed. No one voiced any objections as the construction continued for years. Suddenly, the Environment Ministry discovers what's going on and applies to the Council of State.

  The decision is demolishing the buildings.

  Consecutive municipality governments did nothing about it. Everyone ignored the corruption and mismanagement that was going on. Past court decisions were just ignored.

  So much pressure was put on the Beykoz Municipality Committee that they eventually decided the way they were told to.

  I am saying from here that if there is any corruption in the Acaristanbul project, the way to amend it is not by demolishing 142 villas.

  If they are, only a ghost town will remain there. The region will look like a war zone. One caught, we resort to the worst option available.

  Then we say Turkey is governed by the rule of law.

  Come on…