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I would like to congratulate you for a successful conference which was very insightful. Hundreds of delegates, amongst them myself, benefited tremendously from the knowledge and wisdom of esteemed speakers. I left with invaluable knowledge, experience and food for thought. Thank you. I participated the conference on behalf of the Council of Turkish Canadians. Professor Akhavan, as happy as I am to have witnessed the gathering of concerned Canadians and citizens of the world, the law makers, the students, the journalists and the scholars, to exchange ideas to better the world in a constructive forum, I must also reproach you for not giving a voice to Turkey which was condemned in absentee, without trial. It was admirable that you invited Professor Wenqi Zhu from China and you gave a voice to that country which was under attack for so many and so varied forms of human rights violations. It makes a well-balanced discussion to hear all sides. Even if most of the delegates of the conference were convinced of China's crimes against humanity, they were still happy to hear Prof. Wenqi Zhu's point of view and appreciated the opportunity to ask him questions. This balance was absent with respect to my country of origin, Turkey. As you very well know, scholars around the world are divided on what exactly happened in 1915. Given the ongoing disputes about the so-called Armenian Genocide, it would have been better not to present it as a "fact" but to have both parties argue their case. I understand that you are heading Mr. Akcam's legal team. Wouldn't it be more prudent and ethical, and look less like a "conflict of interest" if you had also invited a speaker who could answer to some of Akcam's claims, give voice to Turkey's side, represent all the other respected scholars, such as Justin McCarthy, Guenter Lewy, Gunduz Aktan, Bernard Lewis and late Stanford Shaw, who do not agree with Akcam? Turkish community of Canada is greatly disappointed to see this lack of balance. Professor Akhavan, you are quoted to have said "My goal is to help Turkey realize its full potential to evolve into a truly free and democratic society. This cannot happen if Turkey continues to criminalize academic discussion." This is a noble goal. We, Canadians of Turkish origin, have the same goal. The key expression in your citation is "academic discussion." I must regretfully say that, in spite of organizing a valuable, meaningful and useful conference, you have failed your fellow citizens who are of Turkish heritage, by not providing them room for "academic discussion." Turkey must allow academic discussion. Canada, a more advanced country in equality and fairness, must do so too. Let us not hamper Canada's reputation of being a truly free and democratic society. We cannot help thinking that favoritism was at play and that one of the greatest teachers of Canada had risked blemishing a *global* conference by inviting his client, who is less than scrupulous in his claims, and by ignoring all the legitimate arguments on the opposing side. Respectfully,
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