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