The Turkish Embassy in Canberra welcomes Professor Justin McCarthy to Australia. He has been invited by the Australian – Turkish Advocacy-Alliance (ATA-A) to speak on World War I and especially Turkish history surrounding events in 1915 which is of particular interest to Australians as we approach the 100. anniversary of ANZAC landings at Gallipoli.

In an effort to disrupt his address titled “What happened during 1915-1923?”, some news channels hastily called him a “genocide denier”, without properly checking his credentials. Professor McCarthy is a scholar of history at the University of Louisville / Kentucky, and his area of expertise is the history of the late Ottoman Empire. He is the author of many books, including “Armenian Revolt at Van” and “Muslims and Minorities” which were praised by other renowned historians such as Andrew Mango and Michael Gunter.

It is regrettable that many innocent people lost their lives or suffered horrendous depredations, as the history vividly describes, however, Professor McCarthy contends that all of those deaths during World War I were the product of inter-communal warfare, and famine and disease, and did not involve an intent or a policy to commit genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

By labeling him of being a “genocide denier, as propagandists of the Armenian diaspora frequently do, the Australian media should not fall into the trap designed to vilify scholars with whom they disagree by bunching them together with Holocaust deniers who are unequivocally and rightfully condemned.

The Embassy hopes that in the name of free speech, Professor McCarthy will not be denied the opportunity to address Federal Parliamentarians, who for the first time will be able to hear the other side of story of the events of 1915.