Armenian Allegations and The Facts

THE ARMENIANS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR PERIOD:

The Nations History beside its characteristic to be the history of struggles, is a heap of unknown facts and dark points. Thus, there is an intention to conceal some pages of history or the reality is totally denied.

A very vivid example of this intention is with no doubt the Turkish-Armenian relations. Before the Turks came, nearly one thousand years ago, the Armenians had been banished to the different parts of Anatolia by the Romans, Persians and the Byzantine Empire. After the Turks have dominated this region, they brought justice to all the peoples living in Anatolia. Armenians were among those peoples. Turks are traditionally fair and Islam is the religion of tolerance. The relations between the Turks and the Armenians have reached its peak in the 19th century and this period became the golden age of the Armenians. Moreover, the Armenians were one of the most comfortable Ottoman subjects. They were exempted from military service and from most of the taxes. Thus, they found the chance to progress in arts, crafts, commerce, agriculture and administrative duties. The Ottoman Empire has named its Armenian subjects as "millet-i sadıka" (loyalist nation) and "tebaa-ı sadıka" (loyalist subjects). The Armenian subjects of the empire were speaking Turkish everywhere moreover they held their religious ceremonies in Turkish. They have promoted to the significant levels of government. Most of the under-secretaries of the Ottoman government were Armenians as in the ministries for navy, public works, foreign relations, finance, treasury, post-telegram, minting. During the First Constitutional period there were nine Armenian deputies in the council and during the Second Constitutional Period the number of the Armenian deputies was eleven. In 1914, there were twelve deputies in the government council and the total number of the Armenian governmental officials was twelve thousand. There are many Armenian writers who wrote researches on the Ottoman governmental affairs.1 On one-side birthrights of the Ottoman subjects, on the other side the rights and the concessions granted by the sultan made the Armenians the most favored and privileged community among all other communities, even the Muslims.

However, in the regression period of the Ottoman Empire, the European interference in every issue of the government became evident, unfortunately this malicious involvement planted the seeds of enmity between the Turks and the Armenians. The European spies especially whom in disguise of Christian missionaries entered the empire, even they carried their provocation and agitation activities in the hearth of the government. Those spies succeeded to alienate the Armenians towards the government. Moreover, they have supported and provoked the Armenian committee members to be armed against the Ottoman Army and of course innocent, civilian Turks. Thus, the events mostly ended disadvantageously for the Turks blurted out. During the revolts and street fights had begun in the East Anatolia and spread through Istanbul, in the end thousands of Turks and Armenians have died.

During the First World War, there were many Armenians who fought side by side with the Turks, but unfortunately the number of the Armenians who have sided with the Russians or other enemies of the empire is plenty. Moreover, many of these Armenian Committee members killed thousands of innocent women, children or the aged. They destroyed Anatolia by killing thousands of Muslims.

The measurements taken by the government were exploited and the Armenians- believing in the promises given by the Entente Powers- began to destroy the homeland which they shared with the Turks for many centuries. Thus, in 1887, an organization was formed in Geneva, named Hunchak. In Tiflis, in 1890, another Armenian Committee was founded, named Dashnaktsutium. Ramgavar and Hunchak Revolution Committee followed this, next the Armed Committee (1880) came. Straight Through Armenia Committee, Young Armenia Committee, Progress and Salvation Committee (1872) and Blackcross Committee (1882) were among the armed organizations. Some of the important events led by these organizations are as follow: 2

a. Zeytun Revolts
b. Kayseri Revolts
c. Bitlis Revolts
d. Van Revolts
e. Mus Revolts
f. Diyarbakir Revolts
g. Elazig Revolts
h. Erzurum Revolts
i. Sivas Revolts
j. Ankara Revolts
k. Adana Revolts
l. Urfa Revolts
m. Izmit Revolts
n. Adapazari Revolts
o. Musadagi Revolts
p. Izmir Revolts
q. Istanbul Revolts
r. Maras Revolts
s. Antep Revolts
t. Aleppo Revolts

The revolts mentioned above should be evaluated without any comparison to the current social events. The seriousness of these events is still horrifying. Armenians who lived side by side with the Turks for many centuries how and under what conditions made such brutal activities? These activities should be analyzed by the methods of psycho-sociology. The telegram which is reveled in "Document 1" is one of the most shameful records in history: "... Until now, in Erzurum City 2.121 Muslim corpses were buried. All of them are males. All corpses have axe, bayonet and led wounds. Their livers were taken of and there pointed piles in their eyes..." 3

Despite war conditions, the government had tried to solve the problem by local measurements for nine-ten months. At last, the government realized that these local measurements were not capable of bringing peace to the region and decided to resettle the Armenian locals in peaceful regions.

The Armenian enmity against the Turks began with the voluntary Armenian troops in the Russian Army and it was carried out French Legion and at last Armenian thuggery had reach its peak in the beginning of the 20th century.

The result of Armenian enmity was a disaster for both sides. 2 millions and 500 thousands of Turks had been killed by the Armenians and approximately 200 thousands of Armenians had lost their lives in the wars, revolts and during relocation. Anatolia was systematically destroyed, from her smallest village to the big cities. The Armenians who were deceived by fake promises by the European powers had left alone to their own destinies in the end. Many of them left their homelands with no other choice.

(1) see Goyunc, Nejat. Osmanli Idaresinde Ermeniler (The Armenians under Ottoman Administration), Istanbul, 1983
(2) see. Suslu, Azmi. Türk Tarihinde Ermeniler (Armenians in the Turkish History). Kafkas Uni. Press, Ankara, 1995

DEPORTATION (THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT)

a. Does "relocation" mean "banishment" or "genocide"?

Relocation, "tehcir" in Turkish, has not a meaning of banishment. "Tehcir" is Arabic originated word meaning "immigration" or "emigration". However, it was translated in English as "deportation" although "tehcir" has a very different meaning. Unfortunately, "Tehcir Code" has been misused against Turkey by provocateurs that make use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. In fact "Tehcir Code" applied to transfer the Armenians to the more secure regions of the country in order to restore peace and harmony. In spite of this fact, many writers use the word "deportation" to dramatize the situation. 4 This is a historical mistake and a philological mistake.

b. The measures taken by the Ottoman Government before relocation and its implementation

The Russians and the Triple Entente were firmly settled on Armenian support in a possible world war. With the breaking out of the war, especially the Armenian organizations working abroad Turkey, called all the Ottoman Armenians to join the Allied troops. Many Armenians obeying this call volunteered to the armies of the Entente Powers and waged revolts in Anatolia.

In the beginning of the First World War, first the Russians by using the Caucasian Armenians incited the Anatolian Armenians against the Turks. Russia promised that she would give all the lands she occupied from the Turks to the Armenians. Moreover, "Russia has dispatched weapons and munitions to the Armenian villages. Russians dressed up as Turkish peasants transported those weapons. Even son of Russian General Loris Melikov went to Van region for this duty" 5

The Russian Tsardom besides forming voluntary troops and arming the Armenians who escaped from Anatolia, by Dashnaktsutium Party gave her economic support to the Armenian committees, as well. In the National Armenian Congress held in February 1915, the representative of the Military Wing of Dashnaktsutium noted that, "As known, in the beginning of the war, the Russian government gave us 242.900 rubles for the armament and preparation expensed of the Turkish Armenians and the first expanses of the revolts. Our voluntary troops had to break the chain of the Turkish Army and to unite with the rebels both in and behind the front lines, in short they had to create anarchy in Turkey to open a way for the Russian troops for a successful invasion of Turkish Armenia." 6

At first, the Ottoman government had taken local measurements and tried to repress the revolts locally. Although Armenian religious leaders had played a very significant role in the revolts, the government evaluated these rebels as some individual efforts. In the same time, the government had sent a note to the Armenian Patriarch saying "it has to take serious measurements against a possible Armenian revolt, to restore the security of the state." The concerned letter by the Commander-in Chief of the Ottoman Army addressed to the Armenian Patriarch is an example for the Turkish sincerity. This letter is revealed in the "Document 2" and it is as follows: "...However, with no doubt, a skillful person, who has been promoted to our country's highest levels, would agree that there are some confused people deceived by foreigners. It is obvious that they appeal some brutal instruments to posses what they desire. As being the government, we have to be rough against those people, we regret to say it but to protect the Ottoman homeland this is obligatory. I can not explain how I regret and am upset against such an obligation..." 7 Although similar letters were sent to the Armenian deputies and the notables who are engaging in those illegal committees, the committees' actions had increased. 8 Under the leadership of the Patriarchs, all the committees in Istanbul carried their activities on as they did in the past and they assisted Allied troops and sent special committees to the cities.

One of the most apparent evident of Armenian treachery is a telegram sent from Hassankale to Istanbul. In this telegram revealed in "Document 3", the Patriarchy complains of some events that occurred in Van to the Commander in Chief and denies the accusations made by the Patriarch against the Turkish habitants of the region. The investigation report written by the Commander in Chief is concluded with this sentence "... the concerned matters would be explained to the Armenian Patriarch as his duty requires to bring reason for the perverse, I implore him to be the pioneer in the way of loyalty and obedience..."9

In fact, before the war has broke out, the Armenians were ready for every kind of revolts. Despite some disorganized movements, they did not wage an overall revolt. They thought that for an well-organized uprising the best timing was the landing of the British Army to the Iskenderun Gulf and the Russian advance to this region. As it is revealed in "Document 4", the Armenians have determined their tactics according to possible occurrences, long before the war. However, the Armenians did not wait for the breaking of the war, in fact they could not have waited and they waged the uprisings. According to the evidences given by some captured Armenian militias the most important reason of premature revolts was the measurements taken by the Turkish Army. Beside that while the Armenians were waiting for the Russian Army's arrival, some of the Revolutionist Committee leaders were arrested and banished. Moreover, the government called every male who was born in 1894.

While the Ottoman Army was in war in many fronts, the Armenians were executing the plan, which was designed for "Armenian independence and the benefit of Triple Entente ideal". However, they turned a blind eye that their activities were treachery.

The Armenian revolts had mainly started in East Anatolia and quickly spread through other cities. With the Russian advance in Erzurum and province, the Armenians systematically killed the Turkish habitants. As a German general said, "they began to erase the Muslim people in the region".

While the Armenian atrocity was going on, Turkish security forces had confiscated many weapons and munitions in the houses of civil Armenians. In fact, the great number of the munitions confiscated was astonishing. Before the Russian occupation, the places that the Armenians live seemed like they are under Armenian invasion; even the government's authority was failing to enter those regions. If the government had tolerated the events the circumstances would have gone too far. 10 9 see. GÜRÜN Kamuran, Ermeni Dosyası (the Armenian File), Turkish Institute of History Press, Ankara, 1983, 10 see. BİLGİ, Necdet, Ermeni Tehciri ve Boğazlayan Kaymakamı Mehmed Efendi'nin Yargılanması (Armenian Relocation and the Trial of Boğazlıyan Head Official Mehmed Efendi), KOKSAV Press, Ankara, 1999.

After the Ottoman Government had entered the war and especially had been defeated in the Caucasian Front, it was obvious that the Armenian bandits would wage an overall revolt. The Armenian pressure on the Muslim habitants seriously intensified. The increasing number of Armenian deserters and attacks on the Ottoman soldiers and gendarmes, thousands of weapons confiscated by the Ottoman Army and the French, Armenian and Russian decipher groups captured, the coming of a nationwide uprising was apparent. Enver Pasha alerted the departments concerned of 25 February 1915. The telegram in chipper that was sent from Erzurum to the Commander in Chief (Document 5) will reveal the facts about Enver Pasha's views.

The Ottoman government had taken measurements against these negative circumstances, and where these measurements were insufficient it relocated the Armenians to the more peaceful regions of the country. However, the event that caused for overall resettlement implementation was the Van Revolt. The Armenians in this region gathered in Van and by arming, waited for the arrival of the Russian Army, we can evidence for this action in documents. The Commander in Chief in Istanbul had made firm that the Russian troops in Van were inciting the Armenians for a revolution. In the report (Document 5) compiled from the Armenian activities all over the country, the Russian support on the Armenian revolutionist is revealed as follows; "...the Muslim villages and town under Russian occupation are being searched and all the arms are confiscated in order to distribute the Armenians. A total of 600 Armenians from Van, Bitlis and Bayezid towns and the Armenian deserters have been gathered in Igdir, they were organized in militia order and later they were divided and sent to the Russian border troops." Attorney Governor for Van, Cevdet Bey has warned about the Armenian formations but necessary measurement had not been taken and the uprising waged in Sitak town, on 17 April 1915, spread through the entire Van. On 20 April, all the Armenians in the City of Van and its villages and Colemerik Nasturi people had revolted. 11 The Armenian Catholic leader Keork V declared that 10.000 armed bandits had joined this revolt. 12

Although Attorney Governor of Van, Cevdet Bey warned the government about Russo-Armenian expansion in Van, the Ottoman Army failed to control the region. At last, Cevdet Bey and Turkish forces in Van left the city on the night of 16 May. Two days later, on 19 May the Russian troops entered Van. Meanwhile, nearly 30.000 Turkish habitants of Van gave serious casualties and left the city. 13

This sentence in "Document 5" reveals under what conditions the Turks left the city: "...These bandits are advancing by plundering the properties of the peasants, and killing everybody, even the babies ..."

Thus in Van and its province the uprisings waged by Russo-Armenian co-operation reached a very serious point. As a result of the Armenian revolts, massacres and destruction, the Russian troops occupied Van, Malazgirt and Bitlis with in a month. As seen, every Russian military operation became successful by Armenian assistance. Van Events is an example for how the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman government stabbed the Turkish Army from its back. Under this condition, the government has decided to relocate the dissident Armenians.

The Armenian committee members' decisions and the documents of their massacres are reveled in Documents. 14 Those documents reveal the calmness and tolerance of the Ottoman administration despite all the psychological pressures and negative conditions.

Beside the code of relocation there are other decisions of the Ottoman government. According to these decisions, the government after nine months of declaration of mobilization has sent an instruction to 14 governors and ordered them to close all the Armenian organizations that were involving in the revolts or assisting the Russian troops.

In this framework, the government decided to close all the branches of especially Hunchak, Dashnak and similar committees and to confiscate their entire documents and to arrest the Armenians whose involvement in treacheries were certain. 15

After the concerned instruction of the Ministry for Domestic Affairs dated 24 April 1915, 2.345 Armenians were arrested in Istanbul where 82.880 Armenians were living. For a month, the Government hoped for the betterment of the events with these measurements. However, everything was getting worse and finally the Ottoman government has given the decision of relocation. All the measures taken against the events that were worsening since the beginning of First World War. Under the conditions of the concerned period, the measurements were not illegal, unnecessary or without a basis.

At this point it would be appropriate to reveal this fact: In the beginning of 1916, while the Russian troops were occupying Erzurum, the Commander in Chief's first order was "The Armenians have no right to settle in Erzurum" 16. Moreover, Russian Minister for International Relations Sazanov, in his project letter (27 June 1916) to Prince Nicolay Nicolayevich the Governor of the Caucus said that, "... It would not be convenient to give the Armenians their independence, because in Armenia the Armenians never been the majority, their number is only the quarter of the entire population and under this conditions, to give domination to the Armenians means to give a minority authority. This may be unjust for the other communities. The best solution is to reorganize the lands captured from the Turks and to treat equally towards all the nations but to set at loggerheads between all the ethnical groups.

Some freedoms for the Armenians should be maintained as education, religion and protection of their language. These essences would boost the respect to the government, clean internal and external incitements and of course they would not make the people to miss the Turkish administration..." 17


5 Presidency of Consul General ATESE Archive doc. no: 4-3671, Kls. 2918, file 797 cat. 6
6 B. A. Boryan, Armeniya Mejdunarodnaya Diplomatiya; SSSR, Çast li Moscow, 1929, p. 360
7 Presidency of Consul General, ATASE Archive. A.1/1. D. 101, K.13.D62, cat. 4-2,4-3
8 Presidency of Consul General, ATASE Archive,
9 12.31 (22 May 1915) dated and 2004 numbered document
11 see. AKCORA, Ergünöz, Van ve Çevresinde Ermeni İsyanları (Armenian Uprisings in Van and Province) (1896-1916), Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı Press, Istanbul, 1994.
12 B. A. Boryan, age, p. 363
13 see BİLGİ, Necdet age
14 ATESE Archive no: 4/3671 D. G 1. K. 2811 file. 26 cat. 28 and Archive no: ½ D. 113 G. 4 K, 528 file, 2061 cat. 21,21-18
15 15. ATASE Archive no ½ cls. 401 file 1580, cat. 9/3 16 B.A Boyran, age, p. 356

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION- BEFORE AND AFTER RELOCATION

Today, the Armenian Committee Members and their supporters distort the truth about Armenian population. The governmental records of the wartime, governmental numbers, church records, and the reports of foreign missionaries are being wrongly revealed in order to create a basement for the genocide allegations. Some of the numbers even exceeds today's Armenian population in the entire world. Here, demographic information is studied from serious resources and compared to the successive components.

a. The Armenian Population Before Relocation There are many claims on the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. These are;

(1) According to the Armenian and other Foreign Resources:

- British Almanac, 1917 20 1.056.000
- According to Bishop Ormanyan 1.579.000
- In Kevork Aslan's Armenia and Armenians
- In Anatolia 920.000
Clickia 180.000
In Ottoman Documents 700.000
Total 1.800.000

- German Priest Johannes Lepsius 23 1.600.000
- Cuinet 24 1.045.000
- French Yellow Book 25 1.475.000
- Basmaciyan 26 2.280.000

- Bishop Nerses Varjabedyan 27 1.150.000

(2) Armenian Population in the Ottoman Records:

The foreign researchers are trying to conceal the Ottoman records. However, the most reliable resources on this subject are with no doubt the Ottoman archives. The Armenian population before relocation, in some subjective resources is revealed four or five times more than it was. For example, the Armenians demanding an independent Armenia in 1878 Berlin Congress claimed that there were 3.000.000 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, but after Berlin Congress decided to impose taxes on the Christian subjects of the Empire they decreased this number even under the number given by the Ottoman government.
The Ottoman Directorate of Statistics was founded in 1892. In this year the director was Nuri Bey, between 1892-1897 a jewish official Fethi Franco taken this duty and between 1897-1903 an Armenian director named Midirgic Sinabyan and between 1903-1908 an American called Mr. Robert had executed the department. 28 As seen, in a very critique period the demographic information of the Ottoman government controlled by foreigners. By moving this point of view, the Ottoman demographic records are the most reliable resources.

According to 1893 census the Armenian Population 1.001.465
According to 1906 census the Armenian Population 1.120.748
According to 1914 statistics Armenian Population 1.221.850 29

b. The Armenian Population after Relocation

The last demographic statistic of the Ottoman Empire was made in 1914. According to this statistic the Armenian population was 1.221.850. From the year Relocation Law was implemented until 1927, both in the Ottoman government and in the Republican period any census had been made. Moreover, in today's Iraq and Syria where resettlement was made occupied by Britain and France. Thus, the number Armenians who had been settled in these regions and demographic alterations could not have been recorded. Moreover, any serious resource on this number does not exist.

In addition, according to the report of Noradungian Gabrial, which he revealed to subordinate commission of the Lausanne Conference, 345 thousands of Armenians went to the Caucasus, 140 thousands to Syria, 120 thousands to Greece and the Aegean Islands, 40 thousands to Bulgaria, 50 thousands to Iran. As seen a total of 695.000 Armenians had left Anatolia.

On of the notable Armenians Hatisov (later he became the President of Armenia) who joined the Trabzon Conference (14 March-14 April 1918), sent a message to Mr. Hüseyin Rauf saying "there are 400.000 Armenians in the Caucasus, who escaped from the Ottoman State". 31

Another Armenian Richard Hovannisian 32 states that 50.000 Armenians had migrated to Lebanon, 10.000 to Jordan, 40.000 to Egypt, 25.000 to Iraq. The number of the Armenians that migrated to France and USA is 35.000.

Another group of Armenians is the one commonly known as Militarists, the Catholic Armenians. According to the Ottoman demography statistic of 1917, there were 67.838 Catholic Armenians in the empire. 60.000 of those Armenians were involved in Musa Dagi Events and later they left Turkey and went to Austria, France and USA. 33 The number of the Catholic Armenians was included in the numbers given above.

Thus, during relocation, 345.000 to the Caucasus, 140.000 to Syria, 120.000 to Greece and the Aegean Islands, 40.000 to Bulgaria, 50.000 to Iran, 50.000 to Lebanon, 10.000 to Jordan, 40.000 to Egypt, 25.000 to Iraq, 35.000 USA and Austria and a total of 855.000 Armenians were subjected to resettlement. In addition, as Kemal Beydilli mentions, usually subjective writers include 60.000 Armenians who migrated in accord to the number of the obligatory immigrants. If the Armenian documents would be seen as a primary resource, and if 855.000 subtracted from 1914 Armenian population, 366.850 people remain. The number of the Armenians not subject to relocation is 167.778. 82.880 of this number were remained n Istanbul, 60.119 remained in Hudavengigar (Bursa), 4548 in Kutahya and 20.237 in Aydın. If 167.778 subtracted from 366.850, 200.000 people remains.

The number of the Armenians who joined the Allied troops and died in the war with the Ottoman Army, the number of the causalities died in the revolts and during immigration is approximately 200.000.

Some foreign writers give the number of the Armenian volunteers in the Russian expeditionary forces as 180.000. 34

Some documents state that an important part of remaining 200.000 people had returned to Istanbul, Aydin, Kutahya and Adana.

Some of them had hidden and later escaped from Turkey. 35 As seen, the numbers that the Armenian allegation based on are nothing but imaginary propaganda instruments.

Moreover, there is a denied truth, this is the number of the Turkish casualties. Justin McCarthy says, "we should consider the number of the Muslim casualties while considering the Armenian deaths. According to the statistics 2.500.000 Muslims had died and most of them were the Turks... City of Sivas was in the frontline. The Russian Army could not have advanced that much. However, in Sivas 180.000 Muslims had died. This is true for the entire Anatolia." 36

20 1917 Britannica Almanac
21 Uras, Esat Armenians in History and Armenian Issues, Istanbul, 1987
22 Aslan, Kevork, Armenia and the Armenians, Istanbul, 1914
23 Uras, Esat, a.g.e
24 Uras, Esat, a.g.e
25 1893-1897 Armenian Affairs, Paris 1897, translation Uras, Esat, a.g.e
26 Uras, Esat, a.g.e
31 Akdes, Nimel Kurat, Turkey and Russia, Ankara, 1990, p.471
32 Hovannisian, Richard, The Ebb and Flow of the Armenian Minority in the Arab Middle East Journal, vol. 28 no. 1 Winter 1974, 5-20
33 Beydilli, Kemal, The Recigrition of the Armenian Catholic Nation
34 Gordana, Sinadinovska-Brauislay Sinadinovski, Ermenskotı Natsfnolno Prasanye, Skopje 1990, p.77