ANCC condemns Justin McCarthy's visit to University of Toront

The Armenian National Committee of Canada strongly urges the University of Toronto to reconsider its decision to allow proffesor Justin McCarthy to speak during a conference entitled “Why did the Ottomans relocate the Armenians?” on March 29, 2007.

“On the cusp of April 24 and our yearly comemoration events of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, the Canadian-Armenian community is shocked to learn that this so-called ’historian’ will be given the chance to spread his denialist views in a respectable academic milieu,” said Jean Merguerditchian, president of the Armenian National Committee of Canada.

According to the March 2007 edition of the Canadian Turkish-language newspaper Canadaturk, McCarthy was originally invited by the Anatolian Turkish Association to participate in a debate about the historical veracity of the Armenian Genocide, but the paper says no Armenians or Turks that maintain the genocide occured dared to take up the challenge. “To us the Armenian Genocide is not a matter for debate. Historical consensus on it is overhwhelming,” Meguerditchian said. “Furthermore, McCarthy did have a debate with Turkish historian Taner Akçam about this last year already, and the results are very obvious to us,” he said.

“As for fear, of course those who embrace the truth about 1915 are afraid. They have good reason to be. It’s barely been two months since Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who dared to call the genocide by its name, was assassinated,” Meguerditchian added. Since then, several intellectuals, such as Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak and Taner Akçam, have demanded police protection.

Meguerditchian also said the credibility of a professor whose entire academic career was sponsored by the Turkish state is questionable. “This fradulent scholar’s hate speech has no room in a serious academic institution like the University of Toronto. He should stick with his usual audience of convinced deniers,” he concluded.

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