Degerli Dostlar,
Ottawa’dan yaziyorum, Lale Eskicioglu, Council of Turkish Canadians icra direktoru.
Kanada’da bicak kemige dayanmistir. Burada artik soz ozgurlugumuzun elimizden alinmasina ramak kalmistir.
Profesor Turkkaya Ataov Toronto’nun Ryerson universitesinde seminer verdigi zaman, universite Ermeni lobisinin baskisi ile semineri iptal etmek istemisti. Toronto’daki vatandaslarin calismalari sonucunda seminer gerceklesti fakat simdi universite Ermenilerden ozur diliyor:
“The lecture was delivered by Professor Turkkaya Ataov, a leading denier of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was equivalent to Neo-Nazi propaganda presented to deny the Jewish Holocaust.”
Toronto seminerinden bir kac gun sonra da ayni sorunlar Montreal’in McGill universitesinde yasandi. Ataov hocanin konusmasinin gerceklesip gerceklesmeyecegi son ana kadar muallakta kaldi. Sonunda konusma gerceklesti ancak ertesi gun McGill universitesi gazetesinde “Konusma ozgurlugu namina bir sarlatanin, bir soykirim inkarcisinin konusmasina izin verdik” seklinde yazilar cikti.
Asagida Ryerson universitesinin mektubunu okuyunuz. Bize nasil yardimci olabilirsiniz? Benim onerim Eylul ayi icin bir yabanci profesor (another leading denier of the Armenian genocide) getirtip baska universitelerde konusturtmak. Biz Ottawa’nin Carleton Universitesinin rektor yardimcisindan bir yabanci profesor getirttigimizde salon tedariki konusunda soz aldik. Eylul ayinda Justin McCarthy’yi getirmek konusunda yardimci olabilir misiniz?
Lale Eskicioglu, Lale [[email protected]]
Executive Director
Council of Turkish Canadians
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In America, there are “equal access” and “”equal time” laws governing libelous attacks in public. I am sure similar laws are in the books in Canada, too. The first step should be a firm, informative, fair, polite, but demanding letter, worded by a lawyer (or law firm) specializing in freedom of speech issues in Canada should be sent. This should be done immediately (within the next several days) to set the stage.
According to their answers, the next step can be designed accordingly.
TALDF can help with wording.
Ergun KIRLIKOVALI, TURKISH FORUM
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| Ryerson Apologizes for Ataov Event and Reaffirms its commitment to uphold the Truth | |
Toronto, Ontario; On February 18, 2009, The Department of Sociology at Ryerson University, and the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations organized an evening lecture on campus titled “Elaborations on Turkish strategies to dealing with issues around Armenian Allegations and beyond”. The lecture was delivered by Professor Turkkaya Ataov, a leading denier of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was equivalent to Neo-Nazi propaganda presented to deny the Jewish Holocaust. Prof. Ataov trivialized the reality of the Armenian Genocide and presented the usual Turkish Government’s views. Ryerson University’s student body was outraged by the fact that such an event had been cosponsored by a department of their university and raised concerns through letters and by signing petitions which included names of approximately 300 Ryerson students. After several meetings with department heads and administration, Dr. Sheldon Levy, the president of Ryerson University, in a letter to Sally Sahagian, the president of the Armenian Students’ Association at Ryerson University, apologized to the Ryerson community by stating, “On behalf of Ryerson University, I would like to apologize for the pain and suffering experienced in particular by the members of the Armenian. Community as a result of this event” He then assured the student body that the university’s views were in line with that of the Canadian Government, the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the hundreds of historians and experts researching the topic internationally. Dr. Levy stated, “Ryerson University supports Prime Minster Harper’s statement on behalf of all Canadians that the Armenian Genocide is a historical fact, unquestionably part of the historical record with tremendous suffering.” Ryerson University’s response indicated that although the university is a space where students can practice their freedom of speech, the university will not become an accomplice to racism and genocide denial. This form of hate propaganda has no place in our academic and scholarly circles. The administration of Ryerson University, through its principled stand, has proven to remain true to the role of the university as an institution committed to upholding the truth. The Armenian Students’ Association at Ryerson University together with all its members and the Armenian Community at large would like to thank the Ryerson University administration for identifying genocide denial as a threat to academia and society at large, consequently taking a principled stand against the crime of genocide. For more info, please contact Sally Sahagian – [email protected]. |
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