659) Armenians Are Professional Beggars :American High Commissioner for Relief

American High Commissioner for Relief States `Armenians Are Professional Beggars" Corrupt Armenian Officials Steal Foreign Aid and There Is Corrupt Redistribution of Land Taken Without Compensation from Muslims . .

The Russians had indeed arrived. Many Armenian refugees, Muslims, and even some Greeks in the Kars region "looked to the Bolsheviks to restore the accustomed rule of Russia in place of the capricious Armenian administration» (l)

The Allies made the evaluation, based on their experience with the Armenian leaders, that the terrorist government was incapable of governing its own people much less minorities. The Bolsheviks staged an uprising within the tiny state of Armenia and there were serious repercussions. "The May uprising caused deep demoralization and dislocation to the Republic of Armenia. After two years, the army had not become fully committed to national independence, and the officer corps had proven inept and indecisive. The fact that the men at arms could chant Bolshevik slogans one day and sing the national anthem the next was symptomatic of their vulnerability to provocation and tem-porization. The unrest compromised the government’s prestige within the country and abroad» (P 247)

This is the heroic army that was so good against unarmed Muslim villages and now that a real army showed up to oppose them, they were ready to switch sides. Is it any wonder, Allied military officers had evaluated the Armenian army as "worthless," and with their first real test, the Armenians proved the Allied military right?

Colonel Haskell, the Allied Commissioner for Relief in Armenia, ordered his staff in Yerevan to evacuate, and he himself quickly packed in Tiflis and sailed from Batum as hastily as possible. On May 3, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Livingston informed Prime Minister Ohandjanian that he was under orders to withdraw all military personnel as well as women of the Near East Relief. Dr. Clarence Ussher would assume responsibility for future relief operations. Haskell had American grain shipments suspended and cargoes bound for Batum diverted to other relief in Europe.

... Formally resigning his position as High Commissioner on August 1, 1920, Haskell called at the foreign office in London the next month, where he labeled the Armenians ungrateful, `professional beggars.` The British government itself had little trust in the administrative abilities of the Armenians, and the May uprising gave the War Office a desired excuse to delay further the delivery of arms and equipment for the Armenian army. The return of Russia to the whole of the Caucasus seemed inevitable (P 248-249)

British Foreign Officer Dwight Osborne wrote about his meeting with Colonel Haskell in the London office.

He was very interested about Armenia and the Armenians` present and future, and gave the worst description of both I have ever heard. The country is a desert and the people nothing but professional beggars. Rich Armenians outside the Yerevan Republic will not contribute a penny to the relief of their starving compatriots and the well to do in Yerevan will pass by dying refugee children in the streets and refuse flatly to work in hospitals for the refugees. The paid hospital nurses will steal and sell the hospital fare. They are thieves and liars, utterly debased, incapable of helping themselves, unwilling to help one another, and entirely lacking in gratitude. Patriotic feeling does not exist. There is no administrative or political capacity in the country, no money and no resources to develop. Foreign Armenians who have amassed fortunes... will neither contribute nor return to the national home....

Undersecretary of State Lord Harding added for good measure, `Knowing the Armenian character I am not in the least surprised by this account.`"(P 248-249)

The Armenian response was to attack Colonel Haskell by calling him a "crook». Of course the Armenian leaders ignored the truth of what Haskell said and attempted to use character assassination to discredit the U.S. Army colonel or anyone else who spoke out frankly about the inept, corrupt, and incompetent dictatorial government of Armenia.

Colonel Haskell noted that once Armenians fled their so-called "national homeland" they never returned. The same is true today. Whenever any Armenian can escape his or her native state, even to places like Russia, they don’t return home. During the past ten years (1991-2001) more than 1 million Armenians fled their homeland. The population has dropped from 3.7 million to less than 2.7 million poor souls – a whopping 27 percent.(Imagine 72 million Americans leaving America in ten years. That would be all of California, Texas, Florida, and New York.)

While the Russians were knocking on Armenia’s door in 1920 – what was the dictatorial government doing? It was try ing to get rid of Muslims in Armenia. Armenia was ruled by what they called the Bureau-Government of Dr. Hamozusp Ohandjanian from May through November 1920. The party dictatorship crushed the May uprising and then initiated a campaign to bring the Muslim-populated districts of the provinces of Yerevan and Kars into the Republic. The Bureau-Government’s record was uneven. Outwardly militant and confident, it was nonetheless shaken by the unreliability of the army during the recent disturbances, the skepticism displayed by the allied Powers, the flight of Colonel Haskell and the interruption of American relief, the concentration of the Red Army along the frontiers, and the popular discontent over spiraling inflation, food shortages, and the inadequate redistribution of land (P 254)

Hovannissian has such a nice way of using words. Rather than using dictator he uses "Bureau-Government». For repression, persecution, and cleansing of Muslim population of Armenia, he uses the words "crushed the May uprising». He does, however, to his credit, admit that the political party that "rules" the country is a "party dictatorship». Since this "party dictatorship" had `"ruled" the country from its beginning, it is difficult to think of a so-called Republic of Armenia as a republic, Isn’t it?

Hovannissian writes of even more problems facing this band of terrorists who called themselves a government. "Through beset by empty granaries, lawlessness, fiscal insolvency, and administrative instability…» (P 254) Not much of a state to brag about, is it? Hovannissian goes on to add, "The concept of statehood, which had lain dormant for five hundred long years, had finally reawakened within the Armenian people» (P 255)

There hadn’t been a so-called independent Armenian state for nearly three thousand years and then it wasn’t much of a state when, finally, there was an Armenian state (1918-1920); it was tiny, landlocked, poverty-stricken, and ruled by dictator terrorists.

As Armenia’s second year under the dictator bandits began, one of its leaders claimed the following, as reported by Hovannissian: "We have always strived to live in peace with our neighbors and have respected their rights and independence, deeply aware that this is in our mutual interest. Most of all, our devastated homeland is in need of rest to make possible constructive and creative labor. But we shall not tolerate and shall regard as mortal enemies those who would dare to threaten our independence» (P 257)

Can anyone believe this terrorist dictator could make such a statement with a straight face?

Consider how the dictators dealt with the food shortage in their meager land. "The hoarding of flour had been outlawed, and significant progress in self help was being made through the cooperative movement. The land hunger of the impoverished peasantry was a major challenge, as previous land committees had been ineffectual, but the government was committed to an active and aggressive policy» (P 260)

Hovannissian attempts to gloss over their mismanagement by saying the following: "the Armenian people had repeatedly suffered because of enemies at the rear – but no longer. Though the Armenian republic might have to struggle against external enemies for years to come, no more would it tolerate disloyal elements internally. They would be crushed without mercy" (P 261).

Here is another example of the bandit dictators` attitude.

There were also antiminority overtones in the regulation against the hoarding of grain and the appointment of Vahagn Krmoyan as the bread czar to enforce the legislation. The reduction of bread rations that the government could exchange for seed grain had been a major cause of the popular discontent on the eve of the May uprising. Now the government took measures to ease the bread crisis until the resumption of American shipments of flour by limiting the amount of grain that could be retained by each household. The legislation of May 24 provided that each individual could keep 3 poods (108 pounds) of grain from the previous harvest for two months ending August I. All other supplies of grain and flour would have to be turned over to the welfare ministry’s distribution committees in accordance with arrangements of the bread commissar (P 2 66)

Hovannissian then goes on to explain: "Krmoyan let it be known that he would concentrate on districts with the largest supply of grain, clearly implying the prosperous Turkic and Russian villages that rejected the jurisdiction of the Armenian government or had aided and abetted the rebels during the May uprising» (P 266)

And so it was that this is what the bandit leader meant when he said that the Armenian leaders "no more would it tolerate disloyal elements internally. They would be crushed without mercy». In other words, if Muslims, mostly Turks, or Russians remained in Armenia, they would have to become slaves, working their own lands, keeping barely enough to survive on, and turning their abundance over to the corrupt Armenian thugs.

Hovannissian admits "the misery of the peasantry was compounded by certain khmbapets, who were a law unto themselves. The zemstvo board and Dashnakist committee of Etchmiadizin, for example, complained bitterly that the band of Martiros (Abrahamian) of Bosh-Garni had beaten the chief of militia and whipped persons subjectively judged to be disloyal. Such disrespect for duly appointed officials was an insult to the republic of Armenia and tarnished the reputation of the government» (P 267)

What reputation of the government? It had none.

Hovannissian reports there was "widespread pilfering of state reserves in the extensive forest lands, sawmills, lumberyards, and supply depots in Kars...” (P 272) What else could the poor people of Armenia do because government officials stole what they could make off with?

The redistribution of land persisted as a chronic problem throughout the duration of the Bureau-Government. Landlords complained that their properties and mills were being encroached upon by lawless peasants and demanded stringent measures to restore these holdings to their rightful owners. The villagers and zemstro boards, by contrast, bemoaned the fact that even middling peasants were on the verge of losing their lands to kulaks and speculators in exchange for a few sacks of wheat or flour. The land committees that had been created under the previous administration had distributed only a few tracts, and even those were parceled out in such a way as to favor the landlords and rich kulaks (P 273)

Consider how the Armenian terrorists went about taking land and distributing it to their own people. Consider also the real reason as to just why the Armenian leaders worked so hard to remove Muslims. In truth, Christianity and purity had nothing to do with what these thugs did.

On June 4, the Council of Ministers confirmed a new land law authorizing the Ministry of Agriculture and State Properties to appoint three-member district committees to nationalize and distribute certain private, monastic holdings and abandoned properties. The committees were to oversee the settlement of new inhabitants…side by side with the announcement of these regulations, the Yerevan press editorialized about the need for an equitable distribution of land and about the Armenian democracy’s long standing commitment to guarantee to the tillers of the soil the fruits of their labors.(P 274)

Apparently, this is the Armenian definition of democracy.

At least some land was distributed and Hovannissian explains whose land it was. In so doing, Hovannissian also unintentionally explains why the Armenian dictator/terrorists hated Muslims and wanted to rid their tiny state of them, "...it was obvious from the descriptions in the press that most of the fund came from `abandoned` lands – that is, former Turco-Tartar villages from which the population had fled». Here is an example of how the Armenian bandits worked their terror to help their own racially pure Armenians. "The members of the Yerevan county committee…nationalized twelve abandoned settlements with 16,234 dessiatines [43,832 acres] in the Dsaghkadzar (Darachichak) district. The brush lands were added to the state forest reserve to leave room for growth, whereas some 5,000 dessiatines [13,500 acres] of arable land were distributed to Armenian refugees and to nearby impoverished villages, which were to be relocated» (P 274)

And this was the pattern in region after region where the Muslims had been forced to flee their lands so the Armenian terrorists could create an ethnically pure state.

As time passed, the Armenian economy became worse and worse for the ordinary people. The Armenian leaders had an answer for their worthless money – just print more of it but make it more beautiful and colorful. Hovannissian explains:

The economic problems of Armenia were aggravated by the absence of a stable monetary system based on hard specie and secured loans. Even in the best of times, the land under the jurisdiction of the Yerevan government had not been self-sufficient. .. the Bureau government had to seek means to meet its immediate financial obligations. Hence, even as the new, colorful banknotes of the Armenian republic were being readied for shipment from Great Britain, the printing press in Yerevan continued to turn out as much as 600 to 800 million rubles a month, reaching a cumulative total of 2 billion by August 1920. The vicious cycle of runaway inflation and increased circulation of unsecured paper money inevitably led to financial chaos. With no investor confidence, the borrowing had to be done on a private basis on very unfavorable terms. Between spring and the end of summer, prices of staple goods doubled... (P 282)

The Armenian leaders spent money they didn’t have to print up "colorful bank notes" in Great Britain – as if this would stop inflation. This was the incompetent mind-set of the dictators and it was a blessing to the ordinary person when the Russians moved in. At least under the Communists they could be fed.

"On June 1, the Minister of Finance…submitted to the Bureau-Government a proposal to organize a campaign known as the Independence Loan with a goal of raising the equivalent of 20 million American dollars». This scheme was to secure the paper money of the state, by issuing "tax-free, ten year bonds paying 6 percent interest" and were to be issued in "denominations ranging from 10 to 1,000 dollars. They were to be secured by all the possessions of the Republic of Armenia» (P 284)

There was also a scheme called the Gold Fund where the people of Armenia gave their gold coins, rings, watches, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other jewelry and gems "to keep the government afloat» (P 285) As always, the bandit leaders retained their power and the Armenian people paid the price by giving up all the valuables they owned.

The Armenian people went hungry as the Armenian leaders mounted yet another military conquest. Hovannissian explains the summer campaign of 1920: "As Armenia recovered from the May uprising and resumed its organic development through trial and error, a spirit of militancy pervaded the Bureau-government» (P 290) The terrorist dictators were at it again.

"The May uprising gave the Bureau-government the desired justification to move against Zangihassar» (P 292) A weak excuse would be the proper name for what the Armenian leaders would attempt to do – take someone else’s land for nothing by force of arms.

"Colonel Shalmazian drew up his men around the northern limits of Zangihassar on the afternoon of June 18 and relayed an ultimatum to the Muslim council to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Armenian government, surrender all foreign agents and troublemakers, and submit to complete disarmament. It was obvious that the Armenians neither expected nor desiredZangihassar to comply, and before dawn on June 19 the stillness of the night was broken by fire from both sides» (P 293) The Armenian terrorists were at it again – murder, pillage, and plunder of innocent Muslims in the name of Christ.

Some 1,900 years before the Armenian bandits began to covet the lands within the Ottoman Empire, the Apostle Paul wrote his famous letter to the Ephesians. Ephesus would become a part of the Ottoman Empire and today is located in modern-day Turkey, where the government has preserved this historic Christian site.

The Armenian dictator terrorists clearly never read the teachings of Paul, who wrote:

Therefore be followers of God as dear children.

And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things to wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience.

Therefor do not be partakers with them. (Ephesians 5:1-

The Armenian leaders had early success with their sneak attacks. This is how the gangster elements thought: "Armenian success in Zangihassar and Olti strengthened the hand of militants who insisted that only by a display of might could Armenia rid itself of internal enemies, safeguard routes of communication, and break out of its externally imposed isolation» (P 306)

The Armenian terrorists would never be satisfied with leaving well enough alone. It didn’t matter what Christ taught. All that interested these little thugs was more and more of someone else’s land.

Then there was Russia.

Soviet Azerbaijan showed no less interest in the fate of the lower Arax.es River Valley than had the previous Musavat-led Azerbaijani republic. From Tiflis on July 5, People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs... addressed a protest note to Armenia. `According to information received, the Armenian armed forces, after having plundered Zangihassar and expelled its Muslim inhabitants, have begun to attack the Sharur-Nakhichevan district: Other Armenian units were engaged in aggression along the Kagakh frontier. Unless these hostilities ceased immediately, they would be regarded as acts of belligerence against Soviet Azerbaijan, which would consider itself free to adopt appropriate countermeasures. "(P 3 09)

In response to the Soviet Azerbaijan demand to stop the "plunder" and "aggression," the Armenian leaders ignored their warning and kept on persecuting Muslims. The Armenian terrorists continued their attacks on innocent Muslims. "...The sweep of the Armenian forces to Bash-Norashen, only 33 miles from Nakhichevan, threw the Muslim militia into disarray and put to flight most of the population of the more than sixty villages of Sharur. Abandoning home and field, the people poured into Shahtaght to get across the bridge into the Maku khanate of Persia before it was too late» (P 313)

The Armenian terrorists thought they would soon have what they called "abandoned" land, which they in truth were stealing to redistribute to ethnic pure Armenians. There would also be new ways for officials of the Bureau-Government to become corrupt and plunder the Muslim lands.

"…The Armenian government’s hope of filling the state granaries with the bounteous crops of the occupied territories was never realized» (P 320) This is a nice way Hovannissian explains, how it is when you are hungry – start a war with your defenseless neighbor by launching a surprise attack to take the fields someone else planted and cared for. "It was estimated that the villages of Sharur had planted 300,000 poods of wheat, 150,000 of barley, 50,000 of rice, and 4,000 of oats» (P 3 20)

Hovannissian goes on to explain exactly why the rogue state of Armenia never profited from their success of attacking defenseless Muslims – it was corruption. Every Armenian involved had his hand out so there was nothing much left by the time the grain reached the dictator bureau-government. "As had been the case in Zangibasar, however, chaos and anarchy prevailed because of overlapping jurisdictions, disputes between the agriculture ministry’s controllers and the armed forces, and profiteering and speculation by persons who, through evasion and bribery, were able to remove enormous qualities of grain without payment or apportionment to the government» (P 320)

And to think – this is the self-proclaimed democratic Republic of Armenia. Isn’t this something for the terrorist government to be proud of? The mess was so bad even the dictators investigated. "A commission of inquiry…reported in August that the government was losing hundreds of millions of rubles in income because of the unbridled plunder of the region» (P 321)

Admiral Bristol, in his letter to Dr. Barton dated March 28, 1921, presents more evidence regarding the Armenian dictator terrorists` thefts. He wrote: "It is a well known fact that in the beginning of our relief work flour and provisions turned over to the Armenian Government for the starving were taken by the high officials of the Government and sold for their own benefit. Then finally Armenia turned Bolshevik and repudiated all her debts; and one of those debts was for the flour we had furnished on their word of honor to repay, because they certainly had no security to offer. It was a sentimental loan based on faith in a people, and they have gone back on us».

Hovannissian ends his volume III with a lengthy chapter titled "Armenian Affairs Abroad». The one thing the dictatorial bureau-government did well was to send capable paid agents throughout the Christian world seeking free handouts and lobbying governments to support Armenia.

"Garegin Pasdermadjian (Armen Garo) was the best known and most prominent diplomatic representative of the Republic of Armenia. Intellectual, guerrilla organizer, and the only Western Armenian on the Supreme Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation `was sent to the United States» (P 434) In addition, there was Vahan Cardashian of the Armenian Committee for the Independence of Armenia who was working to get direct military and economic aid from America.

Armenians also launched a nationwide fund-raising campaign for the benefit of the bureau-government. They also organized a coast-to-coast "subscription campaign for the purchase of an Armenian legation building in Washington, D.C» (P 437)

Just as soon as the United States bestowed de facto government status for Armenia, a campaign was begun to send Armenians to the United States. Hovannissian explains: "Armenian refugees were among the first beneficiaries of United States recognition of Armenia» (P 437).