ARMENIAN - Erevangala500

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A letter forged by Aram Andonian with the date, February 18,
1331 (M arch 2, 1916). The letter opens with a "bism illah"
(blessing), which would never have been written by a Moslem.
The forger, Andonian, made his most fatal mistake with the
date, however. He was obviously not well enough versed in the
tricks o f converting to the Rumi year o f the Ottomans, where a
difference o f thirteen days between the Rumi and Gregorian
calendars must be taken into account. The date he put on the
letter was o ff by a full year. Instead o f 1330 (1915), he wrote
1331 (1916). The contents o f the letter are supposed to be evidence
o f the long advance planning o f the resettlement operation
o f 1915.
Document No. 1
"In the name o f God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, To
the delegate at Adana, Jemal Bey.
February 18, 1331 (March 2, 1916). (Note: This is the
date which appears on Andonian's original Turkish 'document'.
See below for discrepancies in the French and
English editions.)
The only force in Turkey that is able to frustrate the political
life o f the Ittihad and Terakki (Committee o f Union
and Progress) is the Armenians. From news which has
frequently been received lately from Cairo, we learn that
the Dashnaktsutiun is preparing a decisive attack against
the Jem iet."
After a short transition, the alleged "Document No. 1"
comes to the following conclusion:
"The Jemiet has decided to save the fatherland from the
ambition o f this cursed race, and to take on its own
patriotic shoulders the stain which will blacken Ottoman
history.
The Jemiet, unable to forget all old scores and past bitterness,
full o f hope for the future, has decided to annihilate
all Armenians living in Turkey, without leaving a single
one alive, and it has given the Government a wide scope
with regard to this. O f course the Government will give
the necessary injunctions about the necessary massacres
to the Governors ..."
After some further details, the "document" ends with an
unreadable signature.
For the sake o f completeness, is should also be mentioned
that this key letter in Andonian's collection o f documents
is dated February 18, 1331 (February 18, 1915) in the
original French version o f his book, but bears the date
February 8, 1331 (March 25, 1915) in the English version.
The original Turkish text, however, clearly bears the date
February 18, 1331. Let us recall: according to the rules of
calendar conversion, February 18, 1331 corresponds to
March 2, 1916. (1916 was a leap year, so February had 29
A murder weapon in the hands o f the forger, Andonian: a Morse
telegraph o f that period.
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