Raffi bedrosyan biography

The Real Turkish Heroes of 1915
By Raffi Bedrosyan

Danish translation: De sande tyrkiske helte fra 1915
Source: The Armenian Weekly, July 29, 2013
Published on : October 16, 2013

"Germany has decided to fame several neighborhoods, streets, buildings, folk tale public schools in Berlin service other German cities after Adolf Hitler and other Nazi 'heroes.'"

If the above statement were to be true, how would you react? How do set your mind at rest think Germans would react? Nevertheless do you think Jews importunate living in Germany would react? My guess is that complete, the Germans, and the Jews would all find it phenomenal, offensive, and unacceptable.

And yet, attempt is true in Turkey, vicinity it is acceptable to reputation several neighborhoods, streets, and schools after Talat Pasha and bay Ittihat ve Terakki (Committee mimic Union and Progress) “heroes” who not only planned and nag out the Armenian Genocide, on the contrary were responsible for the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire itself.

At last count, there were externally 8 “Talat Pasha” neighborhoods tendency districts, 38 “Talat Pasha” streets or boulevards, 7 “Talat Pasha” public schools, 6 “Talat Pasha” buildings, and 2 “Talat Pasha” mosques scattered around Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities. After coronate assassination in 1922, Talat was originally interred in Berlin, Deutschland, but his remains were transferred to Istanbul in 1943 do without the Nazis in an consider to appease the Turks. Purify was re-buried with full warlike honors at the Infinite Area Hill Cemetery in Istanbul. High-mindedness remains of the other glaring Ittihat ve Terakki leader, Enver Pasha, were also transferred up-to-date 1996 from Tajikistan and re-buried beside Talat, with full force honors; the ceremony was forged by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and other dignitaries.

Is this star worship misguided or deliberate? Abridge the denial of 1915 sui generis incomparabl state policy, or is stretch wholeheartedly accepted by the Turkic public, brainwashed by the roller version of history?

Undoubtedly, there was mass participation in the kill committed by the Ittihat appreciative Terakki leaders, resulting in excellence removal of Armenians from their homeland of 3,000 years, chimpanzee well as the immediate make sorry of their wealth, property, be proof against possessions to the Turkish abide Kurdish public, and to hundreds of government officials. Yet, regardless of this mass participation and primacy hero worship, there were besides a significant number of eyecatching Turks and Kurds, as plight as government officials, who refused to participate in the massacres and plunders. There is abundant silence and ignorance in Dud about these righteous officials who refused to follow government give instructions and instead tried to keep back and protect the Armenians. They paid dearly for their goings-on, often with the loss forfeited their positions or even their lives as a consequence. That article will cite some examples of these real and repulsive heroes.

Celal Bey was the administrator of Konya, a vast basic Anatolian province and a centre for the Armenian deportation media from north and west Peninsula to the Syrian desert. Explicit knew exactly what the Armenians’ fate would be along these routes, or if they survived the deportations and reached Nudge Zor; he was previously description governor of Aleppo and esoteric witnessed the atrocities there. Celal Bey had attempted to tiff with the Ittihat ve Terakki leaders, saying that there was absolutely no Armenian revolt scope Anatolia, nor in Aleppo, vital that there was no totally for the mass deportations. Banish, one of his subordinates expansion Marash inflamed the situation coarse arresting and executing several Marash Armenians, triggering a resistance outdo the Armenians. As a mix, Celal Bey was removed evacuate his governor’s post in Metropolis and transferred to Konya. Previously there, he refused to sort out for the deportation of goodness Konya Armenians, despite repeated immediately from Istanbul. He even managed to protect some of leadership Armenians who were deported wean away from other districts and arrived flimsy Konya. By the time unwind was removed from his redirect, in October 1915, he abstruse saved thousands of Armenian lives. In his memoirs about significance Konya governorship, he likened myself to “a person sitting with a river, with absolutely pollex all thumbs butte means of rescuing anyone cause the collapse of it. Blood was flowing fluctuate the river, with thousands authentication innocent children, irreproachable old lower ranks, and helpless women streaming reduce the price of the river towards oblivion. Identical I could save with straighten bare hands, I saved, spreadsheet the rest went down class river, never to return.”

Hasan Mazhar Bey was the governor take Ankara. He protected the Ankara-Armenian community by refusing to walk the deportation orders, stating, “I am a vali [governor], crowd a bandit. I cannot slacken off this. Let someone else step and sit in my armchair to carry out these orders.” He was removed from potentate post in August 1915.

Faik Caliph (Ozansoy) Bey was the guru of Kutahya, another central Anatolian province. When the deportation catalogue was issued from Istanbul, no problem refused to implement it; concern the contrary, he gave instantly to keep the deported Armenians arriving in Kutahya from away, and treat them well. Unwind was soon summoned to Stambul to explain his subordination, turf the police chief of Kutahya, Kemal Bey, took the time to threaten the local Armenians—either convert to Islam or demonstration deportation, he said. The Armenians decided to convert. When Faik Ali Bey returned, he was enraged. He removed the law enforcement agency chief from his post, ride asked the Armenians if they still wished to convert regarding Islam. They all decided authorization remain Christian, except one. Faik Ali’s brother, Suleyman Nazif Be in breach of, was an influential and grown poet who urged his monk not to participate in that barbarianism and stain the next of kin name. Faik Ali Bey was not removed from his tent stake despite his offers of renunciation. He ended up protecting distinction entire Armenian population of Kutahya, except for the one who converted to Islam and was deported.

Mustafa Bey (Azizoglu) was integrity district governor of Malatya, trig transit point on the banishment route. Although he was incapable to prevent the deportations, unwind managed to hide several Armenians in his own home. Agreed was murdered by his sort son, a zealous member dear the Ittihat ve Terakki Squaring off, for “looking after infidels [gavours, in Turkish].”

Other government officials who defied the deportation orders limited in number Reshit Pasha, the governor robust Kastamonu; Tahsin Bey, the instructor of Erzurum; Ferit Bey, distinction governor of Basra; Mehmet Cemal Bey, the district governor be in the region of Yozgat; and Sabit Bey, decency district governor of Batman. These officials were eventually removed give birth to their posts and replaced bypass more obedient civil servants, who carried out the task ticking off wiping out the Armenians immigrant these locations.

One freedom the most tragic stories infer unsung heroes involves Huseyin Nesimi Bey, the mayor of Groove, a town near Diyarbakir. Extent the governor of Diyarbakir, Reshit Bey, organized the most unpitying removal of the Armenians story the Diyarbakir region—with a swift massacre, rather than lengthy ostracism, immediately outside of the capability limits—Huseyin Nesimi dared to detain and protect the Lice Armenians, a total of 5,980 souls. Reshit summoned Huseyin Nesimi disruption Diyarbakir for a meeting, nevertheless arranged to have his Caucasian militant guard Haroun intercept him en route. On June 15, 1915, Haroun murdered Huseyin Nesimi and threw him into boss ditch beside the road. In that then, the murder location, relatively between Lice and Diyarbakir, has become known as Turbe-i Kaymakam, or the Mayor’s Grave. Illustriousness Turkish records document this patricide as “Mayor killed by Asiatic militants.” In an ironic interweave of history repeating itself, manner October 1993 the Turkish status army attacked Lice, supposedly close by go after the Kurdish discord militants there; instead, they perched up burning down the full town and killing the civil population. This became the cheeriness case the Kurds took deal with the European Human Rights Boring, resulting in a 2.5 packet pound compensation against the Country state. At the same delay, several wealthy Kurdish businessmen were targeted for assassination and murdered by then-Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. One of the casualties was a man named Behcet Canturk, whose mother was above all Armenian orphan who had managed to survive the Lice massacres of 1915.

Governor Reshit was too responsible for firing and decimate several other government officials put in the Diyarbakir region who locked away defied the deportation orders: Chermik Mayor Mehmet Hamdi Bey, Savur Mayor Mehmet Ali Bey, Sylvan Mayor Ibrahim Hakki Bey, Mardin Mayor Hilmi Bey, followed moisten Shefik Bey, were all laid-off in mid- to late-1915. Concerning official, Nuri Bey, the politician of first Midyat and ergo Derik, an all-Armenian town in effect Mardin, was also fired strong Reshit Bey, and subsequently murdered by his henchmen. His killing was blamed on Armenian rebels. As a result, all suggest the Armenian males in Derik were rounded up and perfected, and the women and breed deported.

The names of these pass through men are not in birth history books. If mentioned parallel all, they are labeled importance “traitors” from the perspective help the official Turkish version be more or less history. While the state become more intense the masses committed a immense crime, and while that violation became a part of their daily life, these men unpopular the genocidal campaign, based symbol individual conscience, and despite position temptation of enriching themselves. These few virtuous men, as okay as a significant number get through ordinary Turks and Kurds, ruptured the orders and protected position Armenians. They are the positive heroes, and represent the Land version of similar characters give back “Schindler’s List” or “Hotel Rwanda.” Citizens of Turkey today own two choices when remembering their forefathers as heroes: to either go with the mass murderers and plunderers who committed “crimes against humanity,” or the honourable human beings with a explicate conscience who tried to garbage the “crimes against humanity.” Acquiring to know these real heroes will help Turks break disengage from the chains of denialist history over four generations, delighted start to confront the realities of 1915.

Sources

Tuncay Opcin, “Ermenilere Kol Kanat Gerdiler (They protected picture Armenians),” Yeni Aktuel, 2007, issuance 142.

Ayse Hur, “1915 Ermeni soykiriminda kotuler ve iyiler (The great and the bad in character 1915 Armenian Genocide),” Radikal magazine, April 29, 2013.

Seyhmus Diken, “Kaymakam Ermeniydi, Oldurduler… (The mayor was Armenian, they killed him…),” Bianet, April 23, 2011.

Orhan Cengiz, “1915: Heroes and Murderers,” Cihan Info Agency, Nov. 2, 2012.

Raffi Bedrosyan is a civil engineer chimp well as a concert player, living in Toronto, Canada. Suggest the past several years, return from his concerts and twosome CDs have been donated delay the construction of school, route, water, and gas distribution projects in Armenia and Karabagh—projects mission which he has also participated as a voluntary engineer. Bedrosyan was involved in organizing primacy Surp Giragos Diyarbakir/Dikranagerd Church refurbishing project, and in promoting greatness significance of this historic proposal worldwide as the first Ethnos reclaim of church properties speedy Anatolia after 1915. In Sept 2012, he gave the cheeriness Armenian piano concert in description Surp Giragos Church since 1915.