Ottoman Pogroms

 

In the period 1914-1923 a variety of atrocities were perpetrated on the Armenian, Assyrian and the Pontic Greek, the Christian minorities living under the rule of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. These pogroms included political persecution, massacres, deportations, rape, expropriation of property and destruction of churches and villages. The Ottoman Empire was in decline in the early part of the twentieth century. The ultranationalist Young Turks emerged in 1908 with aspirations for the formation of a mono-ethnic Turkish state as a solution to the political crisis facing the Ottoman Empire. Influenced by the Young Turks, the Ottoman rulers joined the Triple Alliance in World War I. Under the cover of military operations, the Ottoman army and Kurdish paramilitaries waged pogroms, beginning with the Armenian population, and gradually expanding the campaign to include Assyrian and Pontic peoples.

On 24 April 1915 the Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian leaders and intellectuals; this date has since been commemorated by Armenians as the beginning of the pogroms. In World War I, Armenian guerrillas in eastern Turkey (‘Western Armenia’) fought the Ottoman army alongside the Russian regular army. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Russian army disintegrated, leaving the Armenian militias to fight on alone. In May 1918, the Armenian National Council declared the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Defeats by the Ottoman Army of Islam forced the Democratic Republic of Armenia to cede the Western Armenian provinces.

The post-World War 1 Treaty of Sèvres of 1920, between the Allied forces and Turkey, provided for an independent Armenia (including Western Armenia), but in 1921 a friendship treaty between Turkey and the Soviet Union, the Treaty of Kars, superseded this. The Democratic Republic of Armenia was conquered by the Soviet Union in 1921 and became a Soviet Republic. Under the terms of the Treaty of Kars, national borders were also redrawn; Western Armenia was ceded to the Turks and became eastern Turkey. In 1991, the Republic of Armenia was declared amidst the collapse of the Soviet Union. To the present day, certain Armenian nationalists (e.g. – the Armenian Revolutionary Federation political party) maintain that the Republic of Armenia should claim Western Armenia, though this is not official policy. According to the Assyrian and Pontic narratives, hundreds of thousands are estimated to have been killed in the pogroms throughout the period 1914-1923. The Armenian population was approximately 2 million at the start of World War 1. It is commonly asserted by Armenian and other historians that, by 1920, some 1.5 million Armenians had died or were forced out. These figures are highly contested by the Turkish government.

On the ninety-ninth anniversary of the Armenian genocide in 2014, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, acknowledged that 24 April was a significant day for the Armenian people, but denied that the pogroms were a deliberate attempt to purge the Ottoman Empire of the Armenians. Rather, the Turkish government narrative situates the deaths of the Armenian population within the wider context of the millions of all ethnicities who died, including the Assyrians and Pontic Greeks, as a consequence of civil war.

 

Video (France 24): Erdogan offers condolences (23 April 2014)Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Statement on Events of 1915
Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The unofficial translation of the message of The Prime Minister of The Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the events of 1915 President Serzh Sargsyan anniversary speeches
Speech: 24 April 2015 – President Sargsyan’s speech on 100th anniversary of the Armenian ‘Genocide’
Speech: 23 April 2014 – Address by President Serzh Sargsyan on ‘Remembrance Day Of Armenian Genocide Victims’

Joint Statement by Their Holinesses Catholicoi Garegin II and Aram I on the 98th anniversary
24 April 2013
‘On the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia have called upon Turkey to recognize the crime, provide a full compensation to the Armenian nation and take action to return the Armenian places of warship’

Armenia Recognizes Greek, Assyrian ‘Genocides‘
Azatutyun, 24 March 2015
Armenia formally recognized the First World War-era mass killings of Assyrians and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire as ‘genocide’ with a resolution unanimously passed by its parliament on Tuesday

House of Commons Hansard Debates
Hansard, 23 March 2015
‘1915 Armenian Genocide’: Stephen Pound MP (Ealing North) (Labour)

Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian Assembly of America
Armenian Assembly of America and Armenian National Committee of America make statements on Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s remarks regarding April 24th

European Armenian Federation
Erdogan’s message to the Armenian people on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian ‘genocide’ was ‘nothing more than Turkey’s renewed denial tactics under international pressure to accept her past and reconcile with it – especially with the centenary of the Armenian Genocide approaching’

Drector of Armenian Genocide Museum response to Turkish Minister’s Statement
Statement by Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum – Institute

Armenian Genocide: Conciliatory  statement from Turkey PM rejected
CBC News, 24 April 2014
Tayyip Erdogan unexpectedly calls events of 1915 ‘inhumane’ but stops short of saying ‘genocide’

Turkish leader’s statement on Armenian genocide falls short, locals say
25 April 2014
Local Armenians reject Turkish prime minister’s statement as inadequate

The perspective of Armenian-Turkish relations as seen by Turkish Ambassador to Georgia
Turkish Ambassador to Georgia Zeki Levent Gumrukcu talks about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement issued on the eve of the Armenian ‘genocide’ anniversary, the Armenian-Turkish relations and the ways to move on, the two protocols pending in the parliament and the Nagorno Karabakh issue

‘A Good Start’: Analysing Erdogan’s Genocide Comments
Spiegel Online, 28 April 2014

The Armenian National Committee of Canada’s (ANCC) answer to the Turkish PM Erdogan and FM Davutoglu Statements
6 May 2014
‘At first glance these statements may appear to be an important step in creating a dialogue between the Turkish and Armenian peoples, however in reality they are yet another attempt by the Turkish government to interrupt any positive conversations regarding the Armenian genocide’

Turkish leader’s comments on genocide fall short, Valley Armenians say (pdf)
23 April 2014
At a wreath-laying ceremony Wednesday at Ararat Cemetery in central Fresno, local Armenians said conciliatory comments by Turkey’s prime minister did not go far enough in recognizing the Armenian ‘genocide’

Zoryan Institute of Canada, Inc. (pdf)
5 May 2014
Letter from the Zoryan Institute of Canada to Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan On the 31 August 2009, following a mediation process led by the Swiss government, The Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia agreed to start their internal political consultations on the two protocols – the ‘Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations’ and the ‘Protocol on the development of bilateral relations’. The protocols were signed on October 10, 2009 but were never ratified in the Turkish parliament.

In February 2015, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan recalled the protocols from the Armenian parliament. The reasoning he gave for withdrawal of the protocols was that “the Turkish government has no political will, distorts the spirit and letter of the protocols and continues its policy of setting preconditions”.

 This means that the process currently lies dormant. Furthermore, the process itself did not necessarily have the participation or support of various other stakeholders, such as diaspora Armenian organisations, or the local Assyrian or Pontic Greek populations, but nevertheless, was a diplomatic milestone in relations between Armenia and Turkey.

Turkish-Armenian Protocols (pdf)
Protocol on Development of Relations between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia

Background to the Protocols (pdf)
Diplomatic History: The Turkey-Armenia ProtocolsArmenian Church Leader Speaks on Suit to Reclaim Seized Property
New York Times, 18 May 2015
A lawsuit in Turkey filed by the Armenian Church to recover its ancient headquarters is the ‘first legal step’ of a goal to reclaim all Armenian property seized by the Turks

Zuart Sudjian Sues Turkey to Reclaim Her Family Lands — Diyarbakir Airport
California Courier, 20 January 2015
Armenian-American Zuart Sudjian files a lawsuit reclaiming the land that had belonged to her mother’s family on which Diyarbakir Airport is located.

Twenty-two countries recognise the ‘Armenian Genocide’, including Russia and France. In 2010, the Swedish Parliament included the Assyrians and Pontic Greeks in its recognition of genocide.

Campaign for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
‘Our central aim is to secure official British Government recognition of the Armenian W.W.I experience as genocide’

American Hellenic Institute
‘Upholding the rule of law in matters of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in our nation’s dealings with Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey’

Pan-Pontian Federation of the USA and Canada
‘The Pontian Association of Montreal was founded in 1964. It was founded by Greek immigrants of Pontian heritage’

Pope Francis on Armenian Genocide
Reuters, 12 April 2015
Pope Francis calls the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians 100 years ago ‘the first genocide of the 20th century’, prompting Turkey to accuse him of inciting hatred

The Armenian Church: Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
Website of the Armenian Church