1795) Aramean – Armenian Massacres of the Ottoman Times: a Kurdish Responsibility

Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, and Islamologist, Historian, Political Scientist, Dr. Megalommatis, 49, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages. He refuted Greek nationalism, supported Martin Bernal’s Black Athena, and rejected the Greco-Romano-centric version of History. He pleaded for the European History by J. B. Duroselle, and defended the rights of the Turkish, Pomak, Macedonian, Vlachian, Arvanitic, Latin Catholic, and Jewish minorities of Greece, asking for the international recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Born Christian Orthodox, he adhered to Islam when 36, devoted to ideas of Muhyieldin Ibn al Arabi. . .

Greek citizen of Turkish origin, Prof. Megalommatis studied and/or worked in Turkey, Greece, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Syria, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Russia, and carried out research trips throughout the Middle East, Northeastern Africa and Central Asia. His career extended from Research & Education, Journalism, Publications, Photography, and Translation to Website Development, Human Rights Advocacy, Marketing, Sales & Brokerage. He traveled in more than 80 countries in 5 continents. He defends the Right of Aramaeans, Oromos, Berbers, and Beja to National Independence, demands international recognition for Somaliland, and denounces Islamic Terrorism.

In the last part of his interview, Mr. Gabriel Sengo, Chairman of the Aram Nahrin Organization, unveils what remained hidden for too long, due to French and English Colonial trickery, duplicity and machinations.

The Aramean and Armenian massacres of the end of the Ottoman times are mainly, preponderantly and predominantly a Kurdish responsibility. Thousands of articles and pages of Western bibliography do not offer a presentation as clear and insightful as the brief answer of Mr. Gabriel Sengo.

Interview with Mr. Gabriel Sengo, Chairman of the Aram Nahrin Organization – Part VI

- More recently, people discuss historical issues pertaining to the Armenian massacres occurred during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. How was it with the Aramaeans at those days, and to what extent did they suffer in this regard?

- First, we wish to make one remark in advance. As we already have noted, the Aramean mentality has always been characterized by respect and love towards others. When we talk about genocide or massacres, we always involve all the groups that suffered. That is why we talk about Aramean – Armenian - Greek massacres, without distinctions.

Unfortunately, we have missed this mutual respect and dignity on the side of the Greeks and Armenians.

What is even worse is that both, the Greeks and the Armenians, approve publicly of the Aramean colonial spiritual genocide, that is to say the identification of the Aramean Nation with the criminal, Western, spiritual, colonial product “Assyrians”. They falsely talk about “Assyrian genocide”, “Assyrian nation”, while they are quite aware of this fallacies.

The Hellenic Electronic Centre: a racist organization to be denounced globally

There is a racist Greek organisation called “Hellenic Electronic Centre” (HEC), who together with Armenian Organisations (for example ANCA) in the United States, have been committing spiritual genocide against the Aramean nation, by promoting, glorifying and maintaining all the cliches of the Western Spiritual Colonialism.

However, as far as we are concerned, we will continue respecting them and mentioning them by their real name; we will not call Greeks as “Albanians” or “Macedonians” and Armenians as “Azeris” or “Mongolians”. Perhaps they are not mature enough or they don’t know how to respect other nations, in particular those who suffered through the same horrible acts in history as them. We will give them enough time to learn how to respect.

As far as the massacres are concerned, the Arameans suffered as much as the Armenians, and lost around 600.000 people. Regarding the way in which it happened, we believe that the contribution of the Kurds was decisive in the slaughtering.

The ominous role of the Kurdish death squads in the extermination of the Christians

We know that the Ottomans gave the order to exterminate the Christians of the Ottoman Empire. However, there is a very important issue, which has been very vaguely discussed, as it is almost a taboo.

The subject is this: without participation of the Kurdish death squads and gangs, it would be impossible for the Ottomans to carry out their plans as effectively as they did. The Kurds were the neighbours of the Arameans (and also many Armenians), they ate with them, they talked and drank with them, they called each other “Kriew”, that is “my neighbour” and in a deeper sense it meant “My brother”, they knew every cavern and underground secret places where Aramean and Armenians were hiding, they knew the family structure, the structures within individual villages, for the Kurds mostly were the ‘Aghas’ of those villages.

Without the cooperation of the Kurds, it would have been very difficult – not to say impossible – for the Ottomans to carry out their plan as effectively as they did!

In the whole discussion, I have not heard anything of the contribution of the Kurds to these massacres. Some of the present-day Kurds say, “The Turks have forced our forefathers to kill Christians”.

Well, this is a bold fallacy.

There are hundreds of examples where the Kurds exterminated complete Aramean villages, under supervision of the Ottomans.

If the Kurds had refused to kill the Christians, the Ottomans could not have been so effective.

In fact, there have been some examples of noble Kurds who, risking their own life (respecting their “kriew” relation to their Christian friends), gave shelter and protected Christians.

Why could not the Ottoman Empire prevent these noble Kurds doing so?

Why could not the Ottoman Empire do anything against the noble Kurdish Sheikh Fathallah of Ankaf who passed through the Aramean villages and cursed every Muslim who would harm Christians?

The vast majority of the Kurds participated in these horrible acts for personal benefit!

After slaughtering the men, in many cases they took the young Christian girls and honourable mothers to satisfy their low desires.

Now, we see something strange happening in Turkey, which is this: Many Christian girls and women who were dishonoured and forced to accept Islam informed their children about these horrible events and their children passed them secret on to theirs.

What we now see is that many of these “Muslims” are rediscovering their Christian roots and converting back to Christianity. And that is the reason that many people in Turkey have become so “nervous” of the activities of the missionaries (18-4-2007: Three Christians killed in Malatya).

The point is this: the real matter is not the missionaries; it is the people who are re-discovering their roots. You can oppress to a certain extent, but you cannot erase a people’s awareness or memories!

Challenges and targets for today’s Aramaeans

- What are the social, educational and cultural challenges and targets for today’s Aramaeans? What are the political challenges and targets for today’s Aramaeans?

- We could enumerate the following:

1. One of the greatest challenges for the Arameans is unification. In these uncertain times, it is desirable for the Arameans to organise themselves and get rid of the immoral criminal colonial heritage (“Assyrians” or “Chaldeans”) which has caused unprecedented damage to the Aramean Cause. It is this Western colonial heritage which prevents their social, cultural and political development. Nobody will take you seriously (either a friend or an enemy) when you attach yourself to an identity which is effectively not yours.

2. United under one Aramean voice and flag, Arameans would be taken more seriously at the international level, and they would therefore be able to have their fundamental, cultural, political and social, Human Rights more effectively respected, not only in the Middle-East but in the entire world.

3. Once they are unified under the Aramean flag, Arameans can make a start, with the help of the international community, to prepare the Diaspora communities for their return to the lands of their Aramean fathers.

4. In this entire unification process of the Aramean nation, the United States and Europe - in particular France and Great Britain - could play an important role for they have brought this damage to the Aramean nation, by planting unbridgeable mutual hatred within this ancient nation which has given so much to the development of the Mankind!

5. One of the fruits of unification of the Aramean nation could be the establishment of an academic Department of Aramaeology in order to strengthen Aramean culture and enlighten the world with it. This we believe could contribute peacefully to outmanoeuvre terrorism. The best place for a Department of Arameology would be Lebanon, in the West - Aramean Maronite University in Beirut. There is already a department of Aramaic (Syriac) and Antiochian studies in Beirut. A second department of Arameology could also be set up in the West, of course.

6. In the Middle-East, the family is more protected, while in most Western countries the family ties are freer and exposed to dangers, involving sexual immorality, drugs, lawlessness, etc. It is therefore of crucial importance for Arameans to educate their children within the context of the genuine Aramean heritage, the Aramaic language, the Aramean customs and traditions, including the genuine Christian moral and standards.

7. For the Diaspora Arameans, it is also important not to let them get carried away by the more luxurious life in the West, and not to be blindfolded and led astray by the many alluring distractions.

8. It is also seminal to setup social institutions and structures (according to Aramean Christian values) in order to meet the needs of the modern youth, and guide them in a correct way, for many of them are losing their children to the lawlessness and the immorality of the West, available at every street corner!

Note

The Mardin fortress in the heart of the Aramean land - SE Turkey

July 5, 2007
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
American Chronicle