WIKILEAKS RELEASES CABLE ON TURKISH DOCUMENTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE The Wikileaks has released cable 04ISTANBUL1074 by the US Consulate in Istanbul of July 12, 2004. The cable contains Turkish and foreign historians comments on the Turkish government’s policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, the Lebanon-based Al Joumhouria newspaper reports. According to the cable, the admission of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey is a major obstacle to Armenian-Turkish reconciliation. The Armenian Diaspora has numerous documents corroborating the Turkish government’s plans to destroy over 1,000,000 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-16. Armenians and foreign historians point out the Turkish government’s policy of denying access to archives thereby concealing the convincing evidence of Turkey’s involvement in the Genocide. Armenian and other researchers have reasonable doubts over the preservation of archives. Prof Halil Berktay reported at least two attempts to clear the archives of the documents on crimes against Armenians. Back in 1991, a number of high-ranking Turkish military officials reported an attempted stealing of a number of important documents in 1918, before the allies occupied Istanbul. Prof. Berktay believes that the second attempt was made when Turgut Ozal, then president of Turkey, announced his intention to open the archives. According to the historian, the action was planned by a group of retired diplomats and generals headed by the former Turkish ambassador to Iraq. Some historians believes that the archive is being constantly cleared of documents on the Armenian Issue, the cable says. | 
