Editorial Note

Again in this issue, the Turkish and the English sections are separated from each other. Since it’s our duty to make each article comprehensible for our readers who do not speak one of these two languages, you will find the translated summaries of these articles in Turkish and in English in each section.

The Turkish Section

Dr. Bilal ?im?ir continues his research on the Armenian Lobby in the United States under his article entitled “The Ottoman Ambassador to Washington, Alexandre Mavroyeni and the Armenian Burden”. Alexandre Mavroyeni who was an Orthodox Greek, is famous in the Ottoman history with his fight against the Armenian Separatists. His efforts against the Armenians can be considered as one of the most important evidences that proved the existence of an Ottoman spirit at the end of the 19th century.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selami K?l?ç publishes the article on Felix Guse for the first time in Turkey within his article entitled “German Head of the General Staff, Felix Guse’s article named “1915 Rebellions and Its Results”. K?l?ç also gives some information about Guse and his ideas. In his article the translation of “The Testimony for Talat Pasha” written by General Bronsart Von Schellendorf in 1921 is also mentioned. In addition to K?l?ç’s article we attached the translation of Bronsart von Schellendorf and a short introduction for the completion oh the topic of German generals in the Ottoman Army at the beginning of the 20th century.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Erol Kürkçüo?lu in his article named “Ani Under Armenian, Byzantium and the Turkish Rule” concentrated on other civilizations that had been lived in Ani during the history. Ani is generally known as an Armenian city but Kürkçüo?lu in his research tried to explain that attributing Ani only to Armenians would be a historical mistake.

In his article called “Speeches on the Armenians Attributed to Atatürk and his help to Victims of Armenian Terrorists and “Court Martials” ?enol Kantarc? refutes the Armenian allegations on Atatürk’s recognition of the Armenian genocide and proves that Atatürk did not make any declaration on the so-called Armenian genocide. The author also talks about Atatürk’s initiatives for an aid program for the families of the executed people by Court Martials and the Turks killed by the Armenians. In order to express our deepest respect to Atatürk, one of his pictures, when he was speaking to the First National Assembly is selected as our cover.

Hatem Cabbarl? in his article named “The Azerbaijani Turks of Armenia from Past to Present” presents in a detailed way the circumstances under which the Azerbaijani Turks of Armenia tried to survive in the past. The regions, where the Azerbaijani Turks lived in Armenia are extensively investigated by the author. He shows a profile of all the villages and the displacement, which resulted out of the conflict.
There are seven book reviews and additional information on twenty-two recently published books.

English Section of the Journal

Prof. Erich Feigl in his article, “Franz Werfel and “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh”- A Bestseller Serves As A Fake Bible”, gives us some information about the conditions that the article was written and published in.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Kamer Kas?m, in his article called “Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission: A Missed Opportunity”, gives some information about how the Armenians have withdrawn from this unofficial commission. This event has shown us that the Armenians are not still ready for a dialogue between two counties.

In this volume, there are three articles in English about the issues concerning Armenia-Israel and the Jews and Armenians.

Assist. Prof. Dr. ?brahim Kaya analyzes the Jewish Holocaust and allegations of the Armenian genocide comparatively in his article named “The Holocaust and Armenian Case: Highlighting the Main Differences”.

In the article entitled “Armenia’s Jewish Skepticism and Its Impact on Armenia-Israel Relations”, Dr. Sedat Laçiner concentrates on the topic of Armenian hostility against the Jews which is generally an unknown fact. In addition to this, he talks about the problems that occurred as a result of distrustful and prejudiced approaches against each other.

Aydan ?yigüngör, in her article called “A New Perspective: Armenian Allegations in the Light of Israel and the Jews”, explains the Turkish-Israeli relations based on common interests, the Armenian efforts of drawing similarities between the events of 1915 and the
Holocaust and finally she discusses the effects of these facts on Israeli relations.

In the English section of this volume, there are three book reviews and additional information on recently published books.

Articles that are in both sections are:  Facts and Comments, the summaries of important events of 2001 and in the second part summaries of the events of the first two months in 2002 are given. A chronology of 2001 is being prepared by Assist. Prof. Dr. Kamer Kas?m. In the Conferences section, there are information about three conferences that our members had attended.

With Best Regards

Editor