ARMENIAN MASSACRES IN VAN, BITLIS, MUŞ AND KARS
INTERWIEV WITH WITNESSES
Prof.Dr.AZMİ SÜSLÜ,1999
Armenians who have an important place in the Turkish History have not rebelled suddenly since 1890' s. The rebellion of Armenians has a phase of preparatory in its historical process. For, in th at phase, so-called “Armenian Problem” had been falsely produced by the societies and associations which were established in or abroad, by the activities of churches, schools, and missionaires, and also especially by the provocative and stimulative efforts of Western States which had political aspirations on Ottoman Empire.
Afterwards, during the World War I, “Armenian Genocide” had been proposed for a new formula which was instead of “Armenian Problem”. Wherefore, this “legend” has continued for 80 years.
For a thousand year, Armenian minority is one of those minorities, that had been embraced without any racial segregation and presented more rights and privileges them than Turkish people which were from common race and language, by Turks. Though Turks had much more credit in them, yet they were the cause of annoyance and succeding the very systematic manner, attempted to destroy Turks by the provocations of West. Not only they satisfied with this much, but also, while they were sheding Turks blood, raised a clamour thus: “Our blood is being shed, we are being killed, forced to emigration, exposed to genocide!”
After leaving the country with those men who led them to treachery, they had exercised the divers terror operations, but couldn’t be successful. Henceforth, at this time, by using the scientific methods, they have proposed to reach that which desire it. Again, deviating from the truth , they directed themselves to the ways of error and false accusation. It is manifest that there is no scientific document to prove that Armenians or any other minority, were exposed to the act of killing a whole race, and contempted in the last or any period of history of Turks.
And so, any scientific document in any place could be discovered, though it had been searched very carefully for about a hundred year. But it is an im portant thing that the scientific truths were discovered, declared to the native and foreign people, and persuaded them , as well it was answered to concentrated and biased propaganda of Armenians.
Therefore, recently, the new scientific activities are being done for the purpose to reinforce the scientific assemblies in many provinces of Anatolia. These are to excavate the graves in a group.
The first of these, that were excavated in seven places of Eastern Anadolia, is in Igdir Oba on March 1986, second in Erzurum -Alaca on July 1986, fifth in Van-Erciş on July 1986, fourth in Erzurum -Yeşilyayla on October 1988, fifth in Van-Zeve (Zaviye) on April 1990, sixth in Kars-Subatan on June 1991, and seventh in Erzurum -Tımar on July 1993.
Thus, it was m anifestly appeared that thousand of Turkish people together with whose women or daughters, children or elderly, were killed because of th e violence and genocide of Armenians by their systematic and planned terrorism in these places.
The approximate number of these graves in a group which were discovered by great and long scientific researches and local scannings, is 200. Hovewer, perpetual excavations of these graves were going on.
By all which, when Armenian matter was drawn to the scientific ground, Turkey does not only make self-defence, but also begins to attack. But it must be continued the scientific activities, and persuaded the whole world. Wherefore, likewise that such of the scientific activities must not only be locally, but must be presented the whole world and must take place in the world literature.
This kind of activities as in Erzurum , Van, Kars, must become more known. And also, archaeological and anthropological datas must become more widespread. And also, archaeological and anthropological datas must be produced on this field. Likewise, by interrogating the Living Wittness, or Ghazis, and filming them, the specialists in this field, scholars, and pressmen have to join, be mixed, unite with these people. By means of these activities, in our opinion, history of Turks which was both darkened and exploited will be illuminated, as well as it will be proved or registered officially in the sight of the whole world.
Even though it must be confirmed, the scanning of "Living History" is one of the most im portant sources of history. Wherefore, we have scanned Ghazis who are day by day becoming less inhabitants of 'Van, Bitlis, Muş, Kars, for two years. It was scanned and filmed the residences of civil people who had been killed systematically by Armenians during the World War I and the Turkish War of Independence, martiriums, and the Ghazis.
It was interviewed 62 living Ghazis who had been interviewed by the lecturers of universities in that region. In this book, we shall present the results of this research. And also they were broadcasted as a documentary programme which was called "Living History" by the second channel of TRT all over the Turkey and abroad. Afterwards, it will be broadcasted on other local and foreign channels of TV.
As a result, once again, in the presence of history, it was concluded that, Armenian ideas are inconsistent with the truth, as they lack of witnesses, anthropological and archaeological datas, docum entaries, proofs which were obtained by excavations of graves in a group and martiriums. As a Ghazi said to me:
"When all the Western World attacked us, we did not only fight with them, but also we were exposed to the genocide committed by Armenians."
During this genocide, those that were killed, that had their homes and their villages, as well as all of their properties destroyed were not Armenians, but more than one million muslim Anatolian people. We hope sincerely that this tragedy of mankind is not repeated once again in now here that is neither only in Anatolia, Karabag (Karabakh), Cyprus, Bosnia- Herzegovina, nor in the whole world.
. . . . . . . . . . from the book . . . . . . . . .
The Governor of Van Cevdet Bey aiming to undertake a “deportation” for the Turks in order to save them from the Armenian savageness, sent the below given telegraph dated 24 April 1915 to the Ministry of Internal Affairs:
"... The rebellions (Armenians) are holding uproads, attacking the nearby villages and burning them. It is impossible to stop them. A large number of women and children are already homeless. It is also impossible and unsuitable shelter these in the nomadic tribe villages. Is it suitable to send them to the cities in the West?"
When the Armenians with reinforcement started to attack, the Governor Cevdet Bey undertook the migration (deportation) of the citizens sheltered in the castle and the Armenians and later the Russians invaded the city. After the invasion of Van with the provocation of the Russians, rebellions spread out in the area. The Armenian brigands massacred the villagers and destroyed the villages completely.
Thus more than the half of the Muslim population which was around 200.000 in and around Van was massacred. As a result of the lately undertaken expeditions some mass graves belonging to those people were found. The mass graves are in: Van (center), Selim Bey district, Erciş (Kışla) district, Zeve village (here along with Zeve 3000 villagers from 8 villages were massacred by the Armenians), Catbayir (Bahgesaray), an area in Çaldiran and Alaköy.
At the time the Arm enians sources printed the inhum an malevolence they did to Turks in the European and American Press proudly. These were mentioned in the archives of General Staff, ATASE, Primeministry (Interior and Foreign Affairs), Turkish History of Reforms Institute , private archives, and in the publications of many Turkish, foreign researchs, writers, and officials, among thousands, below given is an example to show the difference between the two communities in understanding humanity.
Two paragraphs written by Rafael de Nogales:
“We learned that after the Governor of Van, Cevdet Bey had left Van, the Armenians dominated the place and massacred all the Muslims old, women, children. No where in the World have such vile actions been seen. This reminded me an event that took place in Van: With a couple of my officers while were observing the artillery fire, a Muslim woman was hanging her washings on a nearby flat roop. As soon as the Armenians saw the woman, they opened the fire and her old body honey-combed with bullets. The Armenians preferred and thoroughly enjoyed killing such poor people instead of fighting a half a dozen officers.”
Against these brutalactions, Turks humane behavior is above appreciation. The same writers recognition:
“We saw three Turkish soldiers near the headquarters building. They were giving food to an Armenian who stayed nine days in a wheel without eating anything. This Armenian was saying that he had refused to take part in the assassination attempt on the life of the Governor of Van and to save his life he hid in the wheel. His friends were searching him to kill him. After this Armenian was fed, he was taken to an hospital and was treated for a couple of days there.”
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