Reports by Mohammedan Officers in the Turkish Army as to incidents
witnessed by them.
(1) A.B.'s Report.
In April, 1915, I was quartered at Erzeroum. An order came from
Constantinople that Armenians inhabiting the frontier towns and
villages be deported to the interior. It was said then that this
was only a precautionary measure. I saw at that time large convoys
of Armenians go through Erzeroum. They were mostly old men, women and
children. Some of the able-bodied men had been recruited in the Turkish
Army and many had fled to Russia. In May, 1915, I was transferred to
Trebizond. In July an order came to deport to the interior all the
Armenians in the Vilayet of Trebizond. Being a member of the Court
Martial, I knew that deportations meant massacres.
The Armenian Bishop of Trebizond was ordered to proceed under escort to
Erzeroum to answer for charges trumped up against him. But instead of
Erzeroum he was taken to Baipurt and from there to Gumush-Khana. The
Governor of the latter place was then Colonel Abdul-Kader Aintabli,
of the General Staff. He is famous for his atrocities against the
Armenians. He had the Bishop murdered at night. The Bishop of Erzeroum
was also murdered at Gumush-Khana.
Besides the deportation order referred to above, an Imperial "Iradeh"
was issued ordering that all deserters, when caught, should be
shot without trial. The secret order read "Armenians" in lieu of
deserters. [34] The Sultan's "Iradeh" was accompanied by a "fetua" from
Sheikh-ul-Islam stating that the Armenians had shed Moslem blood and
their killing was lawful. Then the deportations started. The children
were kept back at first. The Government opened up a school for the
grown-up children, and the American Consul of Trebizond instituted an
asylum for the infants. When the first batches of deported Armenians
arrived at Gumush-Khana all able-bodied men were sorted out, with the
excuse that they were going to be given work. The women and children
were sent ahead under escort with the assurance by the Turkish
authorities that their final destination was Mosul and that no harm
will befall them. The men kept behind were taken out of town in batches
of 15 or 20, lined up on the edge of ditches prepared beforehand, shot,
and thrown into the ditches. Hundreds of men were shot every day in
a similar manner. The women and children were attacked on their way
by the "Shotas" and armed bands organised by the Turkish Government,
who attacked them and seized a certain number. After plundering and
committing the most dastardly outrages on the women and children, they
massacred them in cold blood. These attacks were a daily occurrence
until every woman and child had been got rid of. The military escorts
had strict orders not to interfere with the "Shotas."
The children that the Government had taken in charge were also deported
and massacred.
The infants in the care of the American Consul at Trebizond were
taken away on the pretext that they were going to be sent to Sivas,
where an asylum had been prepared for them. They were taken out to
sea in little boats. At some distance out they were stabbed to death,
put in sacks and thrown into the sea. A few days later some of their
little bodies were washed up on the shore of Trebizond.
In July, 1915, I was ordered to accompany a convoy of deported
Armenians. It was the last batch from Trebizond. There were in the
convoy 120 men, 700 children, and about 400 women. From Trebizond I
took them to Gumush-Khana. Here the 120 men were taken away, and,
as I was informed later, they were all killed. At Gumush-Khana I
was ordered to take the women and children to Erzindjan. On the way
I saw thousands of bodies of Armenians unburied. Several bands of
"Shotas" met us on the way and wanted me to hand over to them women
and children. But I persistently refused. I did leave on the way about
200 children with Moslem families who were willing to take care of them
and educate them. The "Mutessarif" of Erzindjan ordered me to proceed
with the convoy to Kamach. At the latter place the authorities refused
to take charge of the women and children. I fell ill and wanted to
go back, but I was told that as long as the Armenians in my charge
were alive I would be sent from one place to the other. However,
I managed to include my batch with the deported Armenians that had
come from Erzeroum. In charge of the latter was a colleague of mine,
---- Effendi, from the Gendarmerie. He told me afterwards that after
leaving Kamach they came to a valley where the Euphrates ran. A band of
"Shotas" sprang out and stopped the convoy. They ordered the escort
to keep away, and then shot every one of the Armenians and threw them
into the river.
At Trebizond the Moslems were warned that if they sheltered Armenians
they would be liable to the death penalty. [35]
Government officials at Trebizond picked out some of the prettiest
Armenian women of the best families. After committing the worst
outrages on them, they had them killed.
Cases of rape of women and girls even publicly are very numerous. They
were systematically murdered after the outrage.
The Armenians deported from Erzeroum started with their cattle and
whatever possessions they could carry. When they reached Erzindjan
they became suspicious, seeing that all the Armenians had already
been deported. The Vali of Erzeroum allayed their fears, and assured
them most solemnly that no harm would befall them. He told them that
the first convoy should leave for Kamach, the others remaining at
Erzeroum until they received word from their friends informing them
of their safe arrival to destination. And so it happened. Word came
that the first batch had arrived safely at Kamach, which was true
enough. But the men were kept at Kamach and shot, and the women and
children were massacred by the "Shotas," after leaving that town.
The Turkish officials in charge of the deportation and extermination
of the Armenians were: At Erzeroum, Bihaa Eddin Shaker Bey; at
Trebizond, Naiil Bey, Tewfik Bey Monastirly, Colonel of Gendarmerie,
the Commissioner of Police; at Kamach, the member of Parliament for
Erzindjan. The "Shotas'" headquarters were also at Kamach. Their chief
was the Kurd Murzabey, who boasted that he alone had killed 70,000
Armenians. Afterwards he was thought to be dangerous by the Turks,
and thrown into prison charged with having hit a gendarme. He was
eventually executed in secret.
(2) C.D.'s Report.
In August, 1915, in the suburbs of Mush I saw large numbers of
dead bodies of Armenians, men, women and children, lying in the
fields. Some had been shot, some stabbed, and most of them had been
horribly mutilated. The women were mostly naked.
In the villages around Mush I saw old women and children wandering
in the streets, haggard and emaciated.
In the same month, in a camp outside Bitlis, I saw collected about 500
women, girls, and children, guarded by gendarmes. I asked the latter
what was to become of these people. They said that they were being
deported, but that they had orders to let the Bands deal with them on
the way. The Bands had been organized by the Turkish Government for
the purpose of massacring the Armenians. They were formed by Kurds,
Turkish gendarmes and criminals who had been specially set free. [36]
On the river at Bitlis I saw quite a number of bodies of Armenians
floating on the water, and some washed up on the banks. The smell
was pestilential and the water undrinkable.
In the same month of August, in the country at a distance of about
two hours from Zaart, I saw the bodies of about 15,000 massacred
Armenians. They were piled up on top of each other in two ravines. The
Armenian Bishop of Zaart was, at his own request, taken to a cave
near by and shot.
On my return from Zaart to Mush, in a village of the suburbs of Mush
over 500 Armenians, mostly women and children, were herded up in a
stable and locked in. The gendarmes threw flaming torches through
an opening in the ceiling. They were all burnt alive. I did not go
near, but I distinctly saw the flames and heard the screams of the
poor victims.
I heard from reliable persons that women in the family way had their
bodies cut open and the child snatched out and thrown away.
At Mush the streets were strewn with bodies of Armenians. Every
Armenian who ventured out of doors was instantly killed.
Even men of great age, blind and invalids, were not spared.
From Mush to Hinis, at short distances from each other, I saw piles
of bodies of Armenians in the fields alongside the road.
Between Sherkes-Koi and Hinis I saw two ravines filled with corpses
of Armenians, about 400 in each ravine, mostly men. Another ravine
was filled with bodies of little children.
At Khara-Shuban I saw a large number of bodies of Armenians floating
on the river Murad.
When I went to Erzindjan I was told that wholesale massacres
were perpetrated at Erzindjan, Mamakhatoun, and the whole country
around. Besides those that the Turks had killed and burnt alive,
they threw thousands of them into the Euphrates. A large number of
Armenians, seeing that their death was inevitable, and fearing worse
atrocities, preferred to throw themselves into the Euphrates.
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