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Taking advantage of the outbreak of
war, the Turkish authorities set out to implement the long-planned program of
extermination of the Armenian population of Turkey. Documentary evidence irrefutably
attests that the plans for the extermination of the Western Armenian population had been
in preparation even before the beginning of the World War. After the liquidation of the
Armenian conscripts in the Turkish army (February, 1915) the Turkish authorities issued an
order in April of 1915 on the deportation and extermination of Armenians in all regions of
the empire. On the evening of April 24 arrests began of the Armenian intellectuals in
Constantinople. The detained, over 800 writers, journalists, doctors and clergymen were
deported into the sticks of Anatolia. Many of the deportees were killed along the way, the
remaining were killed upon arrival. Since then April 24 is commemorated by Armenians all
over the world as the day of remembrance of the victims of genocide.
In 1915-1916 the destruction of the
Armenian population of Western Armenia took place in the vilayets of Van, Erzeroum,
Bitlis, Kharberd, Sebastia, Diarbekir, Trebizond, as well as of Cilicia, Western Anotolia
and other locations. The deportation of Armenianspersued the final objective of their
liquidation. There were concentration camps for Armenians created in Mesopotamia and in
Syria, only a part of the deportees made it there and the massacres carried on in the
camps as well. The act ions of the Turkish villains marked by unrivalled cruelty. There
are many eyewitness accounts preserved that describe the unprecedented suffering borne by
the Armenian population. The total number of victims reaches 1.5 million people,
approximately 800,000 Armenians became exiles and dispersed over the world, adding to the
existing Armenian communities and establishing new ones.
Tremendous damage was done to the material and spiritual culture of Armenians. The intellectual potential of the nation suffered irrecoverable loss. Famous authors and poets Grigor Zaohrab, Varoujan, Siamanto, Rouben Sevak and others, many columnists, painters, actors, scholars fell victim to the atrocities. Unable to withstand the mental overload the great composer Komitas went mad.
Hundreds of historical and architectural monuments and thousands of manuscripts were
destroyed, many sanctuaries of the people were desecrated. In some locations the Armenian
population came up with stubborn resistance against Turkish villains. The Armenians of Van
resorted to self-defence in the Spring of 1915, they succeeded in fencing off the attacks
of the enemy and kept the city in their hands until the arrival of Russian troops and
Armenian volunteers. The Armenians of Shapin-Garahissar, Moush, Sassoun, Fintichag also
came up with steadfast resistance against the overwhelming forces of the enemy . The epic
of the Suetia lasted for forty days.
Progressive mankind condemned the atrocities of Turkish pogroms. Public figures, politicians, scholars and intellectuals in many countries stigmatized the genocide and participated in extending humanitarian assistance to the Armenian people.
After the defeat of Turkey in the World War I the leaders of the Young Turks were accused of leading Turkey into the disastrous war and wer e taken to court. They were also accused in the perpetration of the genocide of Armenians. But the verdict against the former heads of Turkey was passed since
they had fled the country immediately upon its defeat. The capital punishment of some of
them (Talaat, Bekhaeddin Sakir, Jemal Azim, Said Khalim etc,) was executed later by
Armenian avengers.
By Anna.
In 1914, when the sinister shadow of
World War I was casting itself over the world's power nations, the atmosphere everywhere
was like a time bomb ready to explode. The adrenaline was running high in Turkey as well.
The Yerith-Turks (Young Turks) had just overthrown Sulatn Hamid, also known as "the
bloody sultan, and were promising peace to the battered Christians; a promise that sounded
too good to be true. For centuries the undereducated Turks have harassed and massacred the
Armenians and other Christians in Turkey, turning what once was their homeland, and the
proud home of their kings into a prison.
As the Young Turks started preaching "brotherhood and unity", the Christians started to get their hopes high. But, as it turned out, it all was a deviously and very carefully planned step to get rid of the Armenian Question that has been plaguing the Turkish government ever since the San-Stefano agreement in March 3, 1878, where a special article (16) was introduced that granted the
Western Armenians certain safeguards and rights within the a Turkish State. In 1815, as
the World War I took the world by storm, the Turkish government saw a perfect opportunity
to rid itself of the thorn on its side - Armenian Question. Their reasoning being if there
are no Armenians there won’t be an Armenian Question, the Yerith-Turk government put
in motion the horrid plan that came to be known as the First Genocide of the 20th century.
The Turkish government’s
first move was to conscript the Armenian able bodied men, whoever could hold a rifle from
young to old, in the Turkish army. Their next step was to liquidate all of the conscripts,
thus eliminating any chances the Armenians might have had to self defence. Then began the
massive killing, the massacre that was to wipe away the Armenians off the face of the
world, with an exception of one corpse that was to be placed in a museum to show that such
people did exist, as a Turkish Minister, Thaliat, boasted. The inhuman slaughtering of
helpless women, children and elderly ( no men to fight) was documented in some cases by
German officers ( who were there encouraging the Turks ).
April 24th is the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide for the Armenians all over the world. It was on that day in 1915 that over 200 Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in Istanbul (Constantinople), taken to the interior of Turkey, and systematically murdered. 1.5 million Armenian were massacred, and 800,000 were exiled from their homes to seek shelter and spread all over the world. By 1923 the entire Armenian population of Anatolia and Western Armenia had been either killed or deported. The Armenian Genocide is one of the most inhuman acts of our history, yet it has not received the recognition it deserves. The Turkish government till this day denies any wrongdoing and, what is even more disappointing, the US has not yet recognised it either!
When a horrible crime against
humanity goes unnoticed, ignored or unrecognized, it gives a monster like Adolph Hitler
the arrogance to say, before the massacre of jews, "who, after all, speaks today of
the annihilation of Armenians? "
By Anahit.
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