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By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
It is a known fact that numerous documents on the Armenian Genocide were either destroyed or hidden away by the Turkish government. Determined researchers, however, can still discover materials in the Ottoman archives that shed light on important events and personalities of that tragic period.
In recent years, the Turkish government has selectively published some of the more innocuous Ottoman documents, in order to counter criticism that it was concealing incriminating evidence on the Armenian Genocide. Millions of other documents, however, still remain inaccessible to the general public because researchers have to go to Istanbul and request a particular document by its file number, and pay a processing fee. Even if the documents are obtained, few people within and outside Turkey can read and comprehend them, as they are written in Ottoman Turkish and difficult to decipher Arabic script.
The California Courier was recently able to obtain from the Ottoman archives important documents regarding the tragic fate of prominent ARF (Dashnak) activist E. Agnouni, who was born around 1865 in Meghri, Armenia. He studied at the University of Geneva and was active in Armenian political movements in Georgia, Russia and France. In 1904, while in Paris, Agnouni supported the efforts of the Young Turk Party to overthrow Sultan Abdul Hamid. After returning to Constantinople (Istanbul), he actively participated in the Young Turk revolution of 1908. He then toured the Armenian communities of Europe and the United States. Agnouni was arrested in Istanbul on April 24, 1915 — along with hundreds of prominent Armenians — and subsequently murdered.
Prior to his arrest, Agnouni had written a heart-wrenching commentary, published in the April 16, 1915 issue of Asbarez, the Armenian language newspaper in Fresno. The article described disturbing scenes of Armenian soldiers fighting each other in the armies of their respective countries — Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In his article, Agnouni urged Armenian-Americans to come to the aid of their suffering compatriots back home.
Not surprisingly, the Ottoman government had kept track of Agnouni’s every move. This was evidenced by our recent discovery in the Istanbul archives of the Turkish translation of his 1915 article. The translator was an Armenian official named Artin who worked for the Turkish government as a “Censor of Armenian newspapers.”
Censor Artin added the following revealing note: “This translated article belongs to E. Agnouni. He is a member of the Dashnak Party. His real name is Khachadour Maloumian. He is a citizen of Russia. He came to Istanbul during the war and until recently did not do any work other than carrying out propaganda for his party. During his residence here, he made one or two trips to Europe. He is part of the last group that was deported and exiled.”
Bishop Krikoris Balakian, who was among those rounded up by the Turkish government on April 24, 1915, narrated the following bone-chilling episode about Agnouni’s arrest in his monumental two-volume memoir titled, “Hay Koghkota,” (Armenian Golgotha). When Turkish police officers came to his house to arrest him, Agnouni asked in a state of shock: “Does Talat know about this?” Agnouni was completely dumb-founded when the officers showed him Talat’s signature on his arrest warrant. He asked: “I just had lunch with Talat — how come he did not say anything to me?”
Agnouni was stunned by his arrest because he could not believe that Talat would betray him after he had saved his life during the Young Turk revolution of 1908, by hiding him in his own home at the risk of his own life. According to Balakian, when Agnouni finally realized that he was being led to his death, he told his fellow prisoners: “I don’t regret dying, since I knew that death was inevitable. My only regret is that we were deceived by these Turkish villains.” Balakian expressed his deep regret that Armenians who put their trust in Turks realized their mistake too late – only when they were on their way to their deaths!
Several new documents just obtained from the Ottoman archives reveal for the first time that the King of Spain made repeated efforts to obtain the release of Agnouni, Daniel Varoujan, Siamanto, and other prominent Armenians. It is not known what prompted the Spanish King to involve himself in such a humanitarian endeavor.
In two letters dated April 24, 1916, and May 10, 1916, Spain’s Amb. Julian del Arroyo wrote to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Halil Bey, advising him that His Majesty King Alfonso XIII was asking Sultan Mehmed V to spare the lives of the above named Armenian prisoners. Regrettably, unbeknown to the Spanish King, these Armenians had been killed long before his praiseworthy intervention.
Several recently obtained confidential memos between various Turkish officials indicate that Interior Minister Talat finally made up a fake story about the fate of these prominent Armenians. Talat wrote to Foreign Minister Halil Bey on July 25, 1916, asking him to advise the Spanish Ambassador that the Armenians in question, while being led to the Diyarbekir Military Court, had overcome their guards and escaped to Russia! Talat concealed the fact that the Armenian prisoners had been killed months before the Spanish King’s inquiry. This episode demonstrates that Talat was covering up his crimes as he was committing them!
Reading these newly discovered memos written by Turkish leaders leaves no doubt that the Armenian Genocide was centrally planned and executed. Minister of Interior Talat ordered the deportation and execution of Armenians and demanded detailed reports on their movements and conditions. In some instances, Talat personally wrote letters inquiring about the whereabouts of several prominent Armenians!
Despite all attempts to purge incriminating documents, ample evidence of Turkish complicity in the Armenian Genocide still remains in the Ottoman archives!
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Revealing Genocide Documents Found in Ottoman Archives
Comments
10 responses to “Revealing Genocide Documents Found in Ottoman Archives”
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ARMENIANS!!!
REMEMBER FOREVER!!! TURKS REMAIN TURKS!!!
Be careful, for not to repeat the words of prominent Agrouni “…My only regret is that we were deceived by these Turkish villains”
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So then, why are the Armenians still rejecting 2005 Turkish offer of establishing a joint commission of historians to study the archives?
Why are the Armenian archives in Yerevan, Boston (and Istanbul and Jerusalem, and elsewhere) are still closed?
If Armenian claims are so slam-dunk, and if Armenians found such irrefutable evidence, in the Ottoman archives no les, then what are they afraid of?
Why not agree to study them jointly? Or sue Turkey?
They cannot.
You know why?
because then, the world would find out about the other side of the story… and how flaky the Armenian claims really are…
That’s why.
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Turkey’s call for an “historical commission” to study the events of 1915 is an attempt to put genocide deniers on an equal level with genuine scholars. The IAGS passed a resolution in 1997 unanimously recognizing the Ottoman massacres of Armenians as genocide. Turkey’s latest proposal for an “historical commission” is just another red herring of denial drawn across the bloody scent of the Armenian genocide.
Gregory Stanton, President
International Association of Genocide ScholarsArmenian Genocide is recognized!!! It is a fact!!!
Armenian Genocide is “a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable.” BARACK OBAMAFYI: Armenian State Archives are open!!!
Address: 5 Hrachya Qochar
Yerevan 0033
REPUBLIC of ARMENIA
You are welcome! -
Please, read the article next to Harut SASSOUNIAN’S article “HORRORS of the ARMENIAN GENOCIDE. It is
about film of the prominent brothers TAVIANI on the ARMENIAN GENOCIDE!!!
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ALLA=The RAT,
We’ve tried several times in various ways, over many years, to contact the archives in Yerevan and Boston, to ask them to open their archives! Many neutral scholars have tried as well. The results are ALWAYS the same…NO RESPONSE!!! What are you all hiding in those archives? And let’s say they are finally opened in the next ten years, by that time, thoses archive will be either empty (all incriminating evidence having long since been removed to some secret location), or filled with forged documents, as usual!
Finally, the IAGS is a sham organization and not taken seriously (not even recognized as being legitimate by many genuine organizations). They have already freely admitted that the only documents that they have “studied” were the ones provided to them by Armenian sources (gee, what could possibly go wrong there). One “scholar” even said that he really didn’t know that much about this issue!
As for Harut, check out your own back yard before you get all orgasmic by shooting off your typical yap regarding other people’s archives which have been open to the world for many years!
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Armenian heritage and/or Armenian paid genocide historians, scholars (like Tane Akcam) or Armenian supported politicians, editors, filmmakers, US presidents, clergy, activists, etc., are no authorities on what historical event can be labeled a genocide. There is one, AND ONLY ONE, authority for that: The International Court of Justice established by the U.N.
The 1948 U.N. Convention on genocide establishes the definition of genocide but also the sole authority to pass such a verdict : “a competent court”. None of the Armenian claimants to date can replace or pass as “competent court.” International Court Of Justice is created for this puprpose by the U.N. No one can chnage the definition of genocide to fit their purpose or the the authority to decrale genocide. The ICJ cannot be bought or sold, but the members/supporters of the AFATH (Armenian Falsifiers and Turk Haters) community are. That is the difference.
None of the Armenian claims can stand up to the scrutiny of a “competent court” as they are mostly hearsay and forgeries. The AFATH community cannot tolerate to hear the other side of the story because it is very, very convincing, the evidence verifiable and archives are rock solid, open and accessible. That is why the AFATH community fanatically forces the “Turkish-Armenian conflict” to arenas where information can be manipulated by votes and dollars (media, politics, even, unfortunaltely, academia) and they are terribly frightened by the prospects of a “competent court” where Turks might be heard.
The above article is just another puff of hot air within the context of AFATH manipulations, nothing more.
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Ergun,
Do you think you can figure out if the FBI is monitoring your communications?
watch out for Mormons driving Crown Vics. or maybe moles.
trust nobody
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JDA=THE RAT,
You’re losing and you know it! That’s why you and your dashnak henchmen are in mass desperation, grasping at anything and trying to make a big deal out of it, hoping that the world won’t notice the genocides that you dashnaks committed before, during and after WWI, during WWII against the Jews, and also 1992 against the Azerbaijani’s! Also hoping that no one will ask why your archives are still not open after several decades!
So what do you do? You you make farcical comments against Ergun, making yourself look that much more foolish, idiotic and ludicrous! Why don’t you just save yourself what’s left of any self respect and just crawl back under that rock you slithered out from! BTW, did your parents have any kids that lived?
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Robert,
I am not a henchman or even aTashnag. But you are Ergun. By the way, my post was a joke, even though demi-fascists such as yourself usually lack the humor appreciation gene.
I do so much enjoy how the TR and TA establishment likes to use the word “desperation”, not to mention analogies to vermin. I understand you are nervous about Sibel Edmonds’ testimony.
Keep the imodium hndy. It comes in pills, too.
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JDA=RAT,
Imodium huh? Gee RAT, you ought to know more about that than I ever will!! When are those archives ever going to be open to the public? You must have quite a few bottles of Peptp on hand when you dashnaks are repeatedly asked that question and you also divert from it because you have no answer (well, actually you do…NEVER!)! To open those archives would be the true beginning of the end of the dashnaks as they have already started to collapse.
As for your “joke”, after years of dealing with you dashnaks, I find nothing funny in anything you all say or do!! So please excuse me if I’m not rolling around on the floor with laughter. I”ve gotten quite jaded to you folks by this time!
BTW, I’m not Ergun! Nice try though!
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