In February 2007, Sarafian accepted the suggestion of the then-chairman of the Turkish Historical Society, Yusuf Halaçoğlu, to discuss "what happened on the Harput Plain" and "how many people died" during the deportations.
In February 2007, Sarafian accepted the suggestion of the then-chairman of the Turkish Historical Society, Yusuf Halaçoğlu, to cooperate on a joint project. Sarafian later proposed a joint case study of "what happened on the Harput Plain" and "how many people died" during the deportations.