Deniz Baykal, general leader of the Republican People's (CHP) Party, let fly a barrage of criticism for the Armenian conference taking place at Istanbul's Bilgi University. Baykal said that the conference, which is titled "Ottoman Armenians During the Collapse of the Empire: Scientific Responsibility and the Problems of Democracy," was a "one-sided far from scientific" gathering, and attested that its goal was "to have Armenian theses accepted and make Turkey listen to its political ideological dialogue."

Baykal, who was a guest on CNN-Turk's "Ankara Back Room" show, said on the program "It is impossible for me to say that this conference is a project which wants to see any extra documents or results be made public....its goal is to force Turkey to listen to and accept known Armenian thesis...If it had really been a scientific, intellectual conference, they would have invited people with different perspectives to participate."