1531) An Open Letter To Harut Sassounian

You tell me to stick to literature and leave politics to better-qualified heads. You seem to be . . unaware of the fact that politics or political science is a branch of philosophy, and philosophy is a branch of literature, and the aim of literature is not to entertain readers but to understand man. Understanding man is also the aim of psychology and the study of history.

Historians try to establish not just what happened but why. They may agree on the "what" (i.e. the facts) but they may disagree, and often do, on the "why."

You seem to think pro-Armenianism consists in anti-Turkism. What is your single-minded and obsessive anti-Turkism if not a mirror image of Talaat's anti-Armenianism? It is true, there is a difference in that, you and your fellow partisans do not advocate indiscriminate massacre, but some may be justified in seeing that as an extension not of moral superiority but of military inferiority.

Next time you pen one of your consistently predictable weekly editorials I suggest you refrain from narrowing your vision by thinking in terms of labels, such as Turks and Armenians, but seeing both as human beings. You must know by now, we have friends among them as surely as we have enemies among us. And it was not Turks who committed the Genocide, but fascists, and fascists come in all shapes, sizes, races, colors, and creeds, including, alas, Armenians.

What is fascism if not a closed system of thought that is self-righteous, dogmatic, intolerant, narrow, and single-minded in its hatred of the enemy. And what is a fascist if not someone who does not believe in dialogue, compromise, and consensus? I repeat: what motivates a fascist is hatred. Without hatred fascism would lose its focus and collapse into impotent and incoherent rage. Hitler needed Jews, Stalin needed not only bourgeois capitalists but also communist deviationists (i.e. Trotskyites), Talaat needed Armenians, and we need Turks - or rather, the fascists among us do. I believe hatred or any kind of intolerance to be an obstacle to understanding not only of others but also of ourselves. If you say we don't hate anyone, we want only justice, then I ask: Why should understanding, objectivity, and impartiality be an obstacle to justice? On the contrary!

As I see it, we have two options: we either move towards mutual tolerance and co-existence or we follow the dictates of our instinctive need for revenge and, in the process, lower ourselves to the level of those we hate. Armenians and Turks will never reach a consensus as long as they see reflections of themselves in the other, and reflections not of the best but of the worst in themselves.

After writing these lines, I read the following in a review of Susan Sontag's posthumously published collection of essays titled AT THE SAME TIME: ".political righteousness was never enough for Sontag. She defends 'the saving indifference, the saving larger view, that is the novelist's or the poet's - which does not obviate the truth of political understanding, but tells us that there is something more than politics, more, even, than history.'" (NEWSWEEK, March 12, 2007.)

Mar 22, 2007 12:17 pm
Ara Baliozian
http://baliozian.blogspot.com

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An Open Letter To Ara Baliozian

Dear Ara,
I do not mind that you express your opinion on political matters, even though you are a man of letters and not politics. I also do not mind that you disagree with me on political issues. But why do you attack me personally? May I kindly suggest that you present you own ideas rather than engage in cheap personal attacks?

I specialize in Armenian-Turkish issues and you specialize in literature. I don't give you advice on writing poetry and serenades and I can't understand why you think you are qualified to give me a lecture on politics. I say, let each of us stick to what we know best. Otherwise, we would only be exposing our ignorance.

Contrary to your distorted assertions of my position, I do not hate Turks. I write about our legitimate demands from the government of Turkey, not individual Turks. I have no demands from individual Turks. I am not anti-Turkish. I am pro-Armenian.

Contrary to your assertion, I do believe in dialogue and compromise. But knowing something about politics, I am not fooled by propaganda and fake dialogue. True compromise and peace is based on truth and justice, not sweeping genocide under the rug!

Mar 22, 2007 1:33 pm
Harut Sassounian

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Ara's Response to H.S:

One reason i wrote an open letter is that i sensed you had a very low opinion of writers and literature in general. Armenian literature from Movses Khorenatsi and Raffi to Shahnour, Zarian, and Massikian has been intensely political, that is why most of them were exterminated by two fascist regimes and alienated and silenced by our own political parties.

Writers, my friend, are not mental masturbators.

we confront many other serious problems besides turks. what the turks did to us is history. what is happening to us today, is not. by concentrating on turks and ignoring our other problems (two white massacres, for instance: exodus from the homeland and assimilation in the diaspora...to be noted: each has claimed more than 1,500,000 Armenians so far...) your kind of editorializing is nothing but part of a concerted effort on the part of our establishment to cover up its corruption and incompetence...the very same incompetence that was partly responsible in provoking the Genocide.

Ara Balioazian
Mar 23, 2007 12:41 pm

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Dear Ara,
You say that you "sensed" that I have "a very low opinion of writers and literature in general."

As usual, your "sense" is full of nonsense.

I have nothing but utmost respect for writers and literature. But I have no respect whatsoever for charlatans who masquerade as writers.

Harut
Mar 23, 2007 2:01 pm

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Ara's Response to H.S:

if i am a charlatan and i may well be (i have at no time assessed myself as an authority on anything, because, unlike you, i am not in the habit of ASSessing myself) then in a way you support my contention that most armenians are indeed dupes: because for a good number of years nearly every one of our editors and publishers printed me in their papers (including your
own). / ara

Mar 24, 2007 12:14 pm

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My Response to Ara Baliozian regarding his venomous attack against Harut Sassounian

Mr. Baliozian, there no question that Harut Sassounian, as an activist-journalist, has come under attack by denialist Turkish leaders and their cronies.

Why?

It's obvious.

Every time Turkey tried to lure Armenians into traps like TARC, the now-defunct Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, vigilant activists like Sassounian quickly unmasked the conniving intention behind such ploys.

There is no question that Sassounian is one of the leading architects of the numerous resounding defeats experienced by these denialists. Between 2001 and March 2007, denialist Turkish leaders attempted to defraud Armenians on several occasions. The list of ploys that were foiled by Sassounian is very long. I only noted in my last week's column a few. And I did not mention Sassounian's name. But many people know that he has performed leadership roles in these developments. I repeat the concise list:

- July 2001: Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC). The plan was to lure the Armenians into "recognition without consequences." The project eventually collapsed;

- June 2005: Insertion of 500,000 Turkish DVD¢s in TIME Europe. It was paid by Ankara Chamber of Commerce. The TIME editors were duped into thinking that the Turkish DVD was intended to promote tourism in Turkey. But it turned out to be a propaganda ploy to deny the facts of the Armenian Genocide. In February 2007 TIME was compelled to spend the monies received from Turkey to correct its mistakes. TIME Europe apologized to Armenians and paid to duplicate and insert 550,000 DVD¢s on "The Armenian Genocide" produced by a French company. TIME affixed these DVD¢s on a full-page announcement. All courtesy of TIME Magazine;

- Early 2006: Proposal by Turkey to set up a joint commission composed of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the "events of 1915" in Turkish/Ottoman-occupied Western Armenia. This new Turkish ploy was refuted and turned down by the government of Armenia;

- March 2006: Former Turkish Ambassador Gunduz Aktan came to Los Angeles to give a denialist lecture at the University of Southern California (USC) and lure the Armenians into a new defrauding and dishonest "dialogue." His ploy was foiled long before his arrival;

- March 2007: A few days ago, the Ministry of Culture of Turkey announced with great fanfare that Turkey has had the "noble" notion to reopen a 10th century Armenian Church on the island of Akhtamar in Lake Van of Turkish-occupied Western Armenia.

So, we know what got these denialists angry at Sassounian. They must feel frustrated because they couldn't get away with their ploys.

But frankly, I am puzzled and don't really know what got you!

Are you perhaps uneasy about the fact that you're isolated in a village of a far away corner of the Canadian hinterlands, and feel left outside? Are you resenting the fact that Sassounian is in the trenches spending every drop of his energy and time for the welfare of his people and their Cause? You too can come back to the mainstream and become actively involved. Only then you'll be re-familiarized with the conditions in which our people are striving.

It's true. You're a good writer. Your contributions to the Armenian and international literature are valued. But why navigate in the wrong direction for your people. Do you want them to be defrauded out of their rights?

Any petition for peaceful and amicable relations with the righteous Turks is a healthy and noble notion. But an unconditional or auto-misguiding peace and friendship with the denialists is ineffective at best. And at worst, it is very damaging to the Armenians' national aspirations.

What are you trying to deliver? Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by denialist Turks "without consequences?" Recognition without restitution to the victims has already been offered by Ankara and its cronies for some time. That's a non-starter! Just because you may be unaware of that Turkish offer of recognition without restitution, please do not promote it to your fellow Armenians, as if you have made a major discovery.

It's OK to disagree. But why resort to personalized venomous attacks against an individual like Sassounian who is best positioned to help Armenians and Turks achieve an honest, just and lasting peace?

I wouldn't be surprised if the denialist Turks deep down detest individuals who are subservient and "kdznogh" (lackeys). But conversely, they can be very respectful of straight talkers and thinkers like Sassounian.

Appo Jabarian
Mar 23, 2007 2:56 pm

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Ara's Response:

Dear Appo:
no need to call me Mr. we are old friends. let's stay that way.

i am as concerned about the fate of the nation as you are. and once upon a time i shared your illusions. But i am no longer naive. i no longer think as a dupe.

I responded to Harut as i did because he downgraded not only my own person but Armenian literature. May i remind you that more Armenian writers have sacrificed their lives to the nation than members of the ARF.

Please read what follows and teach yourself to be more humble...or humble enough to admit error. because, let's face it, none of us is infallible. i doubt even if god may be said to be infallible in so far as he has created people like us, ready to take offense and hate not only the enemy but their own brothers,all the while asserting a higher morality, intelligence, and patriotism. / ara

Mar 24, 2007 12:21 pm

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Appo Jabarian's response

Dear Ara,

No hard feelings. We can always remain friends.

Let's continue our discussion.

The current Armenian intra-national political landscape has already been formed for decades. There are two diametrically-opposed strategies and philosophies in our approaches for the realization of justice for the Armenian people.

The members of one group believe that we, the Armenians should settle for simple recognition of the Armenian Genocide without consequences (restitutions).


The members of the second group believe that we should only settle for comprehensive recognition with restitutions.

Ara, can you clarify as to which of these two groups you belong to?

I have no problem with disagreements.

I'm not a daydreamer. I don't dream of a seeing an Armenian empire. In principle, I am against the idea of empires. Empires have proven to be a tool in the hands of one nation to enslave other nations. There are no exceptions. All empires have proven to be futile dreams that engender nightmares.

All I strive for is the reestablishment of the viable nation that Armenia was. Armenia of 1070 A.D. was minding its own business and was functioning as a sovereign nation. A nation that was neighborly, peaceful and prosperous. It was the same Armenia that was recognized by the Peace Treaty of Sèvres of August 1920. I am not in the business of being a self-illusionist. Neither am I a self-defeatist.

The members of the above described distinct groups differ. We should all tolerate. We should agree to disagree. But we shouldn't tolerate personalized attacks.

Let us all do what we can. And let the thought process take its course.

I for one, would like to bring my modest contribution to keeping the zest for life alive in this and coming generations. We shouldn't forget what happened in 1915-1923. But we can forgive, provided that justice is served.

Your next questions may be: "What is justice? What kind of a settlement would serve justice for the victims of the Armenian Genocide and their descendants?"

The answer is obvious: A comprehensive settlement.

What is a comprehensive settlement between the Armenians and Turkey?

1) Since privately Turkey already recognizes the cataclysmic events of 1915-1923 as the Armenian Genocide, it makes its recognition official;

2) Returns the forcibly occupied six provinces as noted in the article 89 of the Sèvres Treaty;

3) Returns the personal and real properties to the victims and/or their families;

4) Makes financial amends to the victims and/or their families;

5) Returns the confiscated Armenian community-owned properties, houses of worship, cultural centers, monuments, etc. located in the areas outside of the six Armenian provinces (Cilicia, Constantinople, Smyrna in today's Turkey), and help pay for their restoration

6) Signs a non-aggression treaty with Armenia.

So far, Turkey has offered the Armenians to officially recognize the genocide, provided that the Armenians give up on their rights as noted in points 2 through 6.

In the absence of a comprehensive settlement, the Armenians have no choice but to actively pursue justice anyway they can.

Best,

Appo Jabarian
Mar 24, 2007 8:04 pm

--- arabaliozian@... wrote:

Dear Appo:
No hard feelings, i hope.

We may both be ottomanized armenians, but we can still disagree like two civilized people...or try our best to behave as such, yes? / ara

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Dear Appo:
you are willing to admit that there are two dissenting armenian groups or schools of thought. my question to you is: if armenians cannot agree among themselves, how can they expect or hope agree with their adversaries and the world at large?

my position on the matter?

i don't think it matters or it will make a difference, but i will tell you anyway: in any negotiation it is wrong to begin with a fixed position. our first step is to start talking. Dialogue comes first: compromise and consensus later. consensus on our terms is not and cannot be consensus -- please note that the word itself (consensus) does not mean agreement, but working together...advancing in the same cirection./ ara

Mar 25, 2007 11:31 am

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Dear Ara,
While it is true that many, many years ago several Armenian papers printed your commentaries, but back then you had something original to say! Have you stopped to think why no editor is printing your columns now? Could it be because you have nothing original to say anymore? Could it be because your commentaries are repetitious, mean-spirited and anti-Armenian? No one is interested in reading the rantings and ravings of someone who is way past his prime!

And one more thing: please stop comparing yourself to "Movses Khorenatsi, Raffi, Shahnour, and Zarian." Have a little modesty for God's sake! I know these writers. Believe me, you're no Khorenatsi, no Raffi, no Shahnour and no Zarian! I have nothing but the highest respect for these writers, but as I said, I cannot respect charlatans who masquerade as writers.

Best regards,
Harut Sassounian
Mar 24, 2007 11:08 pm

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Dear Harut:
i do not compare myself to our great writers. but i have every right to say that i am on their side -- as opposed to recycling the propaganda of our political parties.

By the way, if you read the works of our writers or their biographies, you may discover that they were silenced by our editors/publishers when they refused to recycle their propaganda. The latest case, Zarian: he became persona non grata in America when he said: "Our political parties have been of no political use to us. Their greatest enemy is free speech." Treated as a pariah and an enemy, he left for the USSR, where he was buried alive.

Zarian's case is not unique, as you ought to know, if you have read a single history of armenian literature./ara

Mar 25, 2007 11:44 am

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Dear Ara Bey
Re: Open Letter duel between Ara and Harut regarding “ASS-essings”

Thank you for sharing the open letters of famous Harut Sassunian which I mess up with Assunian!.

I cannot say that I enjoy reading his tone of aggressiveness and slandering. To him, you certainly sound like an “infidel” to the Armenian cause. Regarding “infidelity and ass-ishness” I should like to convey the following rubai of Khayyam, who had faced similar types some nine centuries ago. If I were you,

I would prefer to sound as “an infidel”, rather than expressing “fidelity to asses”, that stink badly, due to their fart-smart, literary gaseous language!

With those brave stupids, two or three,

Who in their folly are so wise
They know, what we scarce realize,
They only know the world, not we:

Thou’st better be an ass as well;
For they’re so sunk in assishness
That they call every man, unless
He be an ass, an infidel !

Sukru Server Aya
Mar 26, 2007 7:18 am

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REPLY TO HARUT

"Against my friends only God can defend me. Against my enemies I can defend myself."

You tell me our editors no longer publish me because I am an anti-Armenian charlatan who repeats himself. As speculation this has as much merit as your other speculations, among them your self-conferred and self-assessed status as an expert on Armeno-Turkish relations.

Instead of engaging in counter-speculations, allow me to introduce some relevant facts on the grounds that "an ounce of facts is worth a ton of speculations."

When after working for many years without compensation I asked to be paid less than minimum wage for my work, one of our editor/publishers stopped publishing me. When asked why, he failed to reply.

Two other editors promised to comply and a month later sent me checks that bounced.

Another editor suggested I should be grateful to him for publishing me because in doing so he was giving me the opportunity to be another Saroyan, who once upon a time had also worked for him for nothing.

Still another told me the secretary one of our national benefactors, on whose goodwill he depended, had phoned to complain that he did not agree with my kind of writing.

Because I failed to praise a third-rate English translation of a second-rate Armenian book -which compounded the felony by being shockingly overpriced.(as you may remember, I was not just contributing commentaries but also translations, books reviews, and interviews) - one of our academics wrote a long angry letter to my editor, suggesting I did not deserve to live. Shall I go on?

Still another editor spread the outrageous rumor that my greed knew no bounds because I demanded $1,000 (a thousand) for a day's work.

As for being anti-Armenian: I have every reason to suspect that accusation to be another one of your fabricated speculations based on a fallacy: namely, the identification of the nation with its non-representative leadership. I have been critical of our leaders and their dupes, yes, certainly! But I have at no time written a single line against the people whom I have always considered as double victims of foreign as well as domestic corruption, incompetence, and lies. Is not one of the functions of a free press to be critical of political leaders?

Is all this new to you? Is it conceivable that as an editor/publisher you know nothing about the situation of our press or the moral and intellectual integrity of your fellow editors/publishers? If you are so abysmally naïve and uninformed as to what's going on around you, how can you know or hope to understand what's going on in the minds of individuals thousands of miles away from you?

I began with a popular saying. Let me conclude with another:

"When in a hole, stop digging."

Ara Baliozian
Mar 26, 2007 11:58 am

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Appo Jab and Harut sASS:
Appo Jabarian and Harut Sassounian

Our borders were drawn with blood. Be prepared to pay in kind for every inch that you demand.

Big daddy was challenged in Iraq, imagine how HELLish Anatolia and the Caucasus can become by following your greedy rhetoric. Ninety years from now, a new generation of Armenians, will cry for lost opportunities caused by your misguiding `leadership'.

You may brag all you want about some Turks for accepting a blame that our ancestors do not deserve. It creates 70 million enemies in Turkey against the Republic of Armenia. You are living in a make believe world. Wake up to reality. You can't change Turkey's borders by writing a few columns on strictly Armenian papers.

Before 1071, Armenians were so much oppressed in Anatolia, that they forged alliance with the invading Turks, against the Byzantium Empire. Only propagandists would invent stories like Armenians were living in peace until the Turks arrived in Anatolia. In fact, Fatih Sultan created their religious eminence.

Sovereignty was declared in the six vilayets where the Armenians constituted only 16% of the total population, as a result of the Sevres Treaty which was an unfair division of the Ottoman Empire. This sovereignty lasted ONE year, and new Turkish Republic took land back. Currently, 20 million Turks live in what you call Western Armenia.

Take a lesson from the following chronolgy.
Fatma S.

1917 Nov 7, Bolsheviks came to power in Russia.
1917 Nov 26, Bolsheviks published the secret agreements including division of Turkish land. Also, Russians asked for peace settlement with Turkey.

1917 Dec 4, Ottoman Russian agreements started in Erzurum.
1917 Dec 15, cease fire was signed with Russia in Brest Litovsk.
1918 Jan 30, restarted agreement discussions in Brest Litovsk.
1918 Feb 12, Armenians took over the Russian weapons and started attacking Turks.
1918 Feb 13, Turkish Army conquered Erzincan from the Armenians
1918 Feb 24, Trabzon was taken back from the Armenians
1918 March 3, Brest Litovsk agreement was signed. Russians agreed to vacate Kars, Ardahan, Batum, and return all of Eastern Anatolia to Turkey in 6 weeks. Pre war 1877-1878 borders were accepted.

1918 March 13, Turkish Army entered Erzurum.
1918 April 5, Turkish Army entered Sarikamis.
1918 April 7, Turkish Army entered Van.
1918 April 10 Caucasus Government accepted the Brest Litovsk agreement.
1918 Nov 14, Turkish Army entered Batum.
1918 April 25, Turkish Army entered Kars.
1918 April 30, Turks took back the three sanjacks (Kars, Arahan, Batum) they had lost to Russia with the 1878 Berlin Treaty.

1918 May 11, Batum Conference started
1918 May 15, Gumru (Alexandropol) was taken back by Yakup Sevki Pasha.
1919 May 25, Nuri Pasha (Killigil) forces entered Gence.
1918 May 28, Armenians lost big time in Karakilise. Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence.
1918 June 4, Batum Conference, which had started on May 11 concluded with agreements between Armenia, Georgia, and Ottoman.

1918 July 3, Sultan Reshad died
1919 July 4, Mehmet Vahidettin ascended to the throne.
1918 July 17, Brest-Litovsk written agreement letters were exchanged.
1918 September 6, Armenian Delegation members Aharunian and Hadisian were accepted by the Ottoman Sultan Vahidettin.
1918 Sept 9, Aharunian sent a telegram to Kachaznouni, the Prime Minister of Armenia on Sep 9 saying; `We congratulated Sultan Vahidettin for his enthronement. We offered our good wishes for the prosperity of the Empire, and said that the Armenian Nation will never forget that the Ottoman Government was the first to recognize the new Armenian Republic and the Armenian Government will strive to better relations between our two countries. His Majesty thanked us, mentioned his happiness to see free independent Armenia and wishes for its strength… completed the meeting with his best wishes for our country.'

1918 October 8, Turkish Army took Sosa in Karabag.

1918 October 30, According to Mondros Treaty signed, Turkish Army was to go back to borders before 914. Kars, Ardahan, Batum sanjacs were to be vacated by the Turkish Army. The Allies would decide on the future of the Six Vilayets.

1918 Nov 16, Turkish Army vacated Baku.
1918 Nov 17, British took over Baku.
1918 Nov 18, Turkish Army vacated Tebriz.

1918 Nov 23, The newspaper Tasvir i Efkar published the population breakdown of Istanbul as; 603,919 Muslim, 218,416 Greek, 88,109 Armenian, 55,333 Jewish.

1918 Nov 30, Yakup Sevket Pasha Telegram mentions poor treatment of the Turkish Army by the British in Batum. He also mentions that the British are taking the Turkish Army weapons and distributing them to the Armenians.
Boghos Nubar Pasha applied to the Allies asking for an independent Armenian State.

1918 Dec 1, The British war ships arrived in Batum.
1918 Dec 6, Armenians took back Sosha in Karabag.

1918 Dec 11, Boghos Nubar Pasha wrote to the French Foreign minister; `6-700,000 Armenians were relocated in 1915. Currently, 390,000 of these live in Musul, Suriye, Palestine, Iran and Caucasia. There are some more distributed elsewhere, but their numbers are not known for sure.'

1918 Dec 12, Clashes happened in Belen between Turks and Armenians who came back.
1918 Dec 14, Courts were convened to pass some guilty verdict to please the Armeniansand the invading `Allies'.
1918 Dec 17, Brits and French invaded South Eastern Anatolia. Armenian minority of Cilicia started atrocities towards the Muslim population (in Antep among them).

1918 Dec 21, Armenian volunteers in the French Army took over military buildings in Adana, shouted `Kahrolsun Turkler = damn the Turks' and tore Turkish Flag. The French would leave Adana on Dec 20 1921 and the Turkish Army would take it back on Jan 5, 1922.

1919 Feb 6, Sabah Newspaper; '75,749 Armenians came back to Turkey with the government's assistance.'

1919 Feb 12, Armenian Delegation Aharonian and Boghos Nubar Pasha presented to the Paris Peace Conference; `Independent Armenia in 7 vilayats plus Cilikia, under the USA mandate' Their eyes were bigger than their stomach!...

1919 Feb 19, The French invading forces decided to dismantle the Armenian legion. The French military court condemned one of the Armenian legionnaires to 15 years, two of them to 10 years and another two to 8 years imprisonment for misconduct. By the end of this year 120,000 Armenians were to return to Cilicia.

1919 Feb 20, Marash was invaded by the British. Many deported Armenians returned to Marash. Later the Brits passed Marash to the French. Turks took over in Feb 12, 1920.

1919 Feb 26, Armenian delegates to the Paris Peace Conference Aharonian and Boghos nubar Pasha declared the cities they want and Us mandate for 20 years.

1919 March 1, Pontus Delegation Oeconomos wrote in the French Le Temps Newspaper that Trabzon cannot be given to the Armenians, because they are the minority there. The Greeks and Armenians argue over how to split Ottoman land.
1919 March 24, The Brits invaded Urfa with Armenians.

1919 April 19, Armenians entered Kars
1919 April 30, Georgians entered Ardahan
1919 May 15, Greek Army entered Izmir

1919 July 7, Mustafa Kemal Pasha resigned from the Ottoman Army, to free Turkey from the invaders and the Sultan himself.

1919 July 8, Admiral Bistol, High Commissioner of US in Istanbul, informed his government that mandate of Armenia would be too costly.

1919 Sep 7, General Harbord arrived in Istanbul to investigate a US mandate for Armenia.
1919 Sep 21, Common folk, fought to get back Igdir, but upon the Armenian's attack, they withdrew.
1919 Oct 30, The French invaded Marash with the Armenians.

1919 Oct 31, One Armenian soldier tore the black chadur of a Muslim woman as she was leaving the Turkish Bath. An imam (who was selling milk at the time, referred to as SUTCU IMAM) shot him down. This started a people's revolt against the Armenians in Maras.

1920 Jan 23, Armenians burned down the city of Marash.
1920, March 3, Armenians started atrocities in Kozan
1920 March 12, Lord Curzon in the House of Commons; `You are mistaken to think the Armenians are innocent as a 7 year old girl. However, their latest actions have proven how savage they can be.

1920 March 16, Istanbul was invaded by the `Allies'.
1920 March 20, Armenians burned down 28 villages, near Chaldir and killed 2,000 Muslims.
1920 April 3, US Senate refused a mandate for Armenia upon discussing Gen Harbord's 13 volume report on the situation in Turkey.

1920 April 6, Armenians plundered Kagizman and its environs.
1920 April 11, Lord Curzon met with Boghos Nubar and Aharonian and scolded them on the stupidity of using the weapons against Azeris instead of the Turks.

1920 April 12, Curzon confirmed transfer of weapons to Armenians via Batum and ordered Waldorp, their Counsil in Tiflis to keep this a secret.

1920 April 17, The French invaded the city Antep. Many Armenian homes raised French flag.
1920 April 22, Bogos Nubar Pasha argued in San Remo that Erzurum should be given to Armenians. Lloyd Geroge refused, because Armenians were a minority there.

1920 April 23, Turkish Parliament was founded in Ankara. Ever since, we celebrate this day as the world children's day.

Fatma Sarikaya
Mar 26, 2007 4:58 pm

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Dear Madame Fatma,
Thanks for the warning about how powerful Turks are. We had no idea! Now that you kindly informed us about the major obstacles facing Armenians before our planned liberation of Turkish-occupied Western Armenia, we will make sure to be better prepared so we won't be butchered like we were 92 years ago. We also appreciate your correct reference to "Western Armenia."

Best regards,

Harut
Mar 26, 2007 6:48 pm

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Continues Here