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DOWNLOAD Genocide in Our Time - NewFoundations

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The collection conta<strong>in</strong>s documents from the palaceof the Sultan Abdul Hamid II relat<strong>in</strong>g to the Ottomanmilitary operations aga<strong>in</strong>st a remote mounta<strong>in</strong>top clusterof Armenian villages charged with <strong>in</strong>surrection <strong>in</strong> 1894.Orig<strong>in</strong>al Ottoman documents, dated from 19 May 1894to 6 October 1894, are reproduced, transliterated <strong>in</strong>toLat<strong>in</strong> script, translated <strong>in</strong>to Turkish and English. Thedocuments are <strong>in</strong>troduced by four essays, three onterrorism, two of which are repr<strong>in</strong>ts of earlier worksby Lowry and McCarthy. The third by Dr. CengizKurgad entitled "Armenian Terrorism, " is a sectionfrom his update to the Uras volume. The <strong>in</strong>troductoryessay, where<strong>in</strong> the aim of the foundation is given asthe prevention of "the further distortion of events" (p.xxxiii), is also <strong>in</strong> large part a repr<strong>in</strong>t of the section onthis period from Uras. Under the guise of describ<strong>in</strong>gthe episodes of political terrorism from Armenianhistory, Kurgad's work engages <strong>in</strong> another exercise <strong>in</strong>denial. Kursad's framework, however, virtually reducesthe last hundred years of Armenian-Turkish relationsto one of terrorism <strong>in</strong>flicted by Armenians on Turks.The genocide is only "a theme <strong>in</strong> the campaign ofpropaganda and psychological warfare. " (p. 21) TheOttoman-Russian campaigns dur<strong>in</strong>g World War I werea war by Armenians aga<strong>in</strong>st Turks. Besides describ<strong>in</strong>gthe "resettlment""policy as a "countermeasure,Kurgad, tak<strong>in</strong>g his cue from Guri<strong>in</strong>, is adamant on thematter of the deportations. "Not a s<strong>in</strong>gle Armenian wasdeported. " (p. 25)¹ 5. 29 ¹Sonyel, Salahi R. "How Armenian Propaganda Nurtureda Gullible Christian World <strong>in</strong> Connection withthe Deportations and 'Massacres'. " Belleten 51, no.161 (1977): 157-175."The betrayal of the relatively prosperous Armenianpeople of the Ottoman Empire by their own selfseek<strong>in</strong>g,self-centered and foreign-<strong>in</strong>spired leaders, and<strong>in</strong> return, the treachery of some of the Armeniansaga<strong>in</strong>st their own country, Turkey, when that countrywas engaged <strong>in</strong> a life-and-death struggle aga<strong>in</strong>st itsenemies dur<strong>in</strong>g the First World War and after. . . " isthe open<strong>in</strong>g sentence of this article. Apart frombetrayal, Sonyel asserts that Armenian leaders wereskillful <strong>in</strong> the use of propaganda, themselves "<strong>in</strong>dulged<strong>in</strong> a wide campaign of terror and massacre aga<strong>in</strong>st theMuslims and then persuaded the West that it was theArmenians who were massacred. " Sonyel cataloges allthe different k<strong>in</strong>ds of treachery the Armenians engaged<strong>in</strong>: espionage, collaboration with enemy powers,propaganda, and atrocities. The journal Belleten ispublished by the Turkish Historical Society.¹ 5. 30 ¹Sonyel, Salahi R. Displacement of the ArmeniansDocuments. Ankara: Turkish Historical Society, 1978.This collection of Ottoman documents — reproduced<strong>in</strong> facsimile and translated <strong>in</strong>to English, French, andTurkish, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a number of telegrams from 1915signed by Talaat — shows that the displacement of theArmenians was a well-organized, closely monitored,and carefully implemented policy. The documents givethe semblance that the entire process was peaceful,"orderly, and with no harm brought to the "immigrants.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Sonyel the evidence verifies that "theOttoman Empire planned to displace some of theArmenian citizens temporarily to other parts of thecountry tak<strong>in</strong>g the most humane measures. .. " (preface)The editor fails to note that, without geographicalspecification, <strong>in</strong>structions for "transport" are virtuallymean<strong>in</strong>gless. For example, one communique fromTalaat reads: "The Armenians with<strong>in</strong> the prov<strong>in</strong>ceshould be transported to the areas previously determ<strong>in</strong>ed." (p. 1) Another signed by the Chief of GeneralStaff glumly states: "It is decided that the Armeniansshould be moved to the <strong>in</strong>terior of the country. " (p.1) Virtually all the <strong>in</strong>structions are equally vague aboutthe dest<strong>in</strong>ation of"the people "transported. Nor arethere any <strong>in</strong>dications of the scope of the measures, orthe numbers of persons supposedly relocated. All thedirectives produced refer to the prov<strong>in</strong>ce of Hudavendigar,the area around Bursa which saw no fight<strong>in</strong>gdur<strong>in</strong>g World War I. This detail is overlooked by theeditor as it contradicts one of the ma<strong>in</strong> arguments byrationalizers and revisionists which <strong>in</strong>sists that onlyArmenians from the "war zones" were deported.¹ 5. 31 ¹Sonyel, Salahi R. The Ottoman Armenians: Victims ofGreat Power Diplomacy. London and Nicosia: K.Rustem & Brothers, 1987.Sonyel attributes the dis<strong>in</strong>tegration of Turkish-Armenian relations to the <strong>in</strong>terventionist policies ofEngland and Russia. As they alternated <strong>in</strong> their sponsorshipof "reforms" on behalf of the Armenians, theEuropean Powers only propelled Armenian nationalism.Consequently, they contributed to the emergence ofArmenian revolutionary organizations. Sonyel characterizesthe massacres from the 1890s on as episodesof civil war, and the genocide of 1915 is called a"Turco-Armenian tragedy. " He ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>s that Armenianextremists "succeeded <strong>in</strong> deceiv<strong>in</strong>g the public of theChristian world simply because they posed as a 'martyred'nation <strong>in</strong> the cause of Christ and clamoured thatthey had been 'massacred. '" Sonyel advances the<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g notion of a double irrationality as the reasonbeh<strong>in</strong>d the suggestion of genocide: Armenian distortion104 GENOC<strong>in</strong>E

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