The Blue Book, Political Truth or Historical Fact is a 2009 documentary film by Gagik Karagheuzian about the Armenian Genocide denial.
Contents
Synopsis
In 2005 the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) send a petition, signed by all its members, to the British parliament demanding an apology for the accusation that Turkey was guilty of Genocide against the Armenians. The petition referred to the British parliamentary report, "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-16", authored by Viscount Bryce and Arnold J. Toynbee, better known as the Blue Book.
Ara Sarafian a British Armenian historian had republished an uncensored edition of the Blue Book five years earlier in 2000. Once he heard about this petition he set out on a campaign to demonstrate the authenticity of the original work and to defend the integrity of his republication.
This observation documentary follows Ara Sarafian as he travels to the site of massacres described in the eyewitness accounts which were used in the British parliamentary Blue Book. He confronts official Turkish historians at an academic symposium in Istanbul University. While there he answers questions from Turkish journalists how were interested in his motivations. Later he takes part in a Television debate discussing the validity of this almost hundred year old report. Throughout the debate the official Turkish historian casts doubt at the authenticity of the Blue Book, but during a break in the broadcast, while still being filmed for the documentary, he admits to Ara and the presenter of the program, that the TGNA petition was a political exercise, it was academically weak and Ara’s response was accurate.
Background
The filming of the Blue Book started in August 2005. In 2007 a version was released briefly for funding purposes. Following this there was some additional filming, and the Blue Book documentary was completed in Augest of 2009. In 2014 as part of the Armenian genocide centennial commemorations Blue Book app was develop including additional footage.