SPECIAL REPORTS

At the end of the war, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated and the Ittihadist leaders escaped to Germany, Siruni came out of his hiding, and with few surviving intellectuals tried to re-establish a community that was mortally wounded.

In both the United States and Turkey, the current governments and the social systems they protect discriminate against whole parts of the population. Their victims may be the socially disadvantaged or distinct ethnic and religious peoples. Imagine a country where the poor and members of ethnic minorities die more often from the coronavirus than the well-to-do and those favored by the state.

The state of emergency declared after the coup attempt on July 15 resulted in a purge in universities that has never been seen before in Turkey's recent history. The emergency decrees have been used for dismissing both experienced academics who carried out many researches in universities and young academics whose careers had just begun. However, despite everything that happened, some academics hold on to their profession, which they define as “reason for being”. In this regard, Kocaeli Solidarity Academy is a precursor and guiding initiative. Having completed its first term of “alternative education”, it has also the purpose of establishing an open and free school of life for people with a new two-tear program.

Asia and Africa collection of British Library in London offers books that tell a story of Kurdish language and culture that is not widely known. More than hundred works in Kurdish, especially children's books, that were published in Soviet Armenia in Cyrillic, Armenian and Latin alphabets have come to light again thanks to cataloging efforts of Michael Erdman, library's curator of Turkish and Turkic languages.

Historian Taner Akçam reveals another document of critical importance. In the telegram sent by III. Army Commander Mahmut Kamil Paşa to the regions from where Armenians had been deported, it was stated that the houses of the ones who hide Armenians will be burned.

Historian Taner Akçam decpihred the telegram by executive of Teşikilat-ı Mahsusa (Secret Organization) and Commitee of Union and Progress Bahaettin Şakir dated July 4, 1915. The telegram is about coordination of deportation and annihilation of Armenians. The letterhead on the telegram proves that it is indeed original.

Showing that this land is not only a source of tensions and massacres, but also nurtures unforgettable love stories, “Aşiq û Maşûq – Kurdish-Armenian love stories from Armenian sources” brings three unforgettable tales which are part of oral history and handed down from generation to generation. The common ground of these tales is not only impossible loves; they also voice Anatolia, Mesopotamia and all unique Dersim and reveal the life of Armenian and Kurdish peoples.

German Avagyan is a photographer who participated in joint Armenia-Turkey exhibitions before it was a trend and has always used his camera for documenting the difficult issues that became a wound for the society. In this regard, interviewing him is precious, not only in terms of photography but also in terms of understanding how photography can really change people's lives. We introduce this artist concerned with many issues like poverty, disability and war to our readers.