RELOCATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMENIANS IN 1915: A REASSESSMENT

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Pages : 15-34

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Publication Date : 2010-10-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :This article criticizes the subjective approaches adopted by thehistorians in dealing with the events of 1915 and also the lack of consistency in theinterpretations of the conflict between the Muslims and the Armenians.author makes evaluations about the way the subject is handled in the light ofarchival documents. The evaluations are based on the closing of the ArmenianCommittees on 24 April 1915, the arrests of the leading political figures and howthese events are handled both by the Turkish and Armenian historians. In hisassessments of the arrests of April 24, 1915 the author argues that the state hadonly aimed at taking the activities of the revolutionaries under control, and that theclaims concerning the arrests of these political figures was a preparation for theprocess to exterminate the Armenians is groundless. It is also argued in this articlethat the decision for relocation has been taken as a legal security measure and thatthe Armenian uprisings were the principle reason behind the decision. Alsodiscussed in this article are the number of people relocated and the ratio of deathswhich took place during the marches of the convoys to the designated locations insouthern parts of the Ottoman Empire. The author emphasizing the importance ofstudying the events of 1915 on the basis of the archival documents welcomes theletter of the Turkish Prime Minister to the President of Armenia to the effect thatan historical commission consisting of historians and other experts from twocountries should be established to study the developments and events of 1915 notonly in the archives of Turkey and Armenia but also in the archives of all relevantthird countries
Keywords : Armenians, Ottoman Empire, Armenian Question, Forced migrations