Turkish General Directorate of State Archives yesterday began to open the state archives over the 1915 incidents between Turkey and Armenia to the public via Twitter, following scores of unanswered calls by the Turkish side to open the archives.
The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study Ottoman archives pertaining to the era to uncover what actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian citizens.
Posted by the @devletarsiv Twitter account with the #Ermenimeselesi (Armenian issue) hashtag, documents aim to reveal the facts over the decades-long dispute on the 100th anniversary of the incidents.
In a telegram sent by the governor of the eastern province of Bitlis to the interior ministry dated Sept. 18, 1914 regarding the stance to be taken by Ottoman Armenian citizens during the war, it reads: "The recent decision and suggestion by Armenian thinkers is to stay calm and bow to the state [Ottoman Empire] until the declaration of war, to change the enemy party if war is declared, to stay calm and bow to the state if our army gains ground and to arm themselves and hamper the army's route if it withdraws. This information is declared by the Muş Governate to be from trustworthy intelligence. The Third Army Command is [also] informed."
Another published document also revealed that attacks by Armenian rebels increased in February, 1920 and 28 Muslim villages were destroyed with more than 2,000 Muslim villagers killed by Armenian rebels. A subsequent letter to the Interior Ministry on March 7, 1915 stated that 30,000 Muslim men in the eastern provinces of Kars and Ardahan were killed by Armenian rebels, and the letter also warned against some Armenian soldiers in the Ottoman army refusing to fight against the enemy, making themselves captives to the enemy side deliberately in order to leak information.
Document showing the destrutction of 28 Muslim villages and over 2,000 Muslim population in 1920.
Savaş Eğilmez, who is the head of ASIMED, a Turkish foundation aimed at fighting the "genocide" allegations of Armenians, said yesterday that they are going to organize conferences in some countries with photos and documents.
"Our actions are aimed at telling the truth, not designed to defend ourselves [i.e. Turkey]. We will attend a conference in the U.S. and inform NGOs about the Armenian issue [the 1915 incidents]. We will defend no one, including the Turkish side. We only aim to tell the truth based on the sources," said Eğilmez.
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On Sunday, Pope Francis referred to the 1915 incidents involving Armenians as "genocide" during a mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at St. Peter's Basilica, which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also attended.
Following the pope's remarks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's envoy to Ankara and called its ambassador to the Vatican back to Ankara for consultation and related the message that the incident has caused "loss of trust."
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The Foreign Ministry also released a statement regarding the incident, saying "Pope Francis, who has defended the opinion of building peace and friendship between different groups around the world since the day he was assigned pope, has discriminated against people's suffering, overlooked atrocities that Turks and Muslims suffered in World War I and only highlighted Christian suffering, especially that of the Armenian people."
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following the revolts, and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation process.
A telegram noting that the Armenians will gang up against the Ottomans if the Ottoman Army withdraws
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents, saying that although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The debate on "genocide" and the differing opinions between the present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political tension between Turks and Armenians.
Document stating that the Muslims killed by Armenians in eastern cities of Kars and Ardahan had reached 30,000
Turkey's official position against allegations of "genocide" is that it acknowledges the past events were a great tragedy and that both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents as "genocide."
Document showing that a payment of 1,000 liras was made to the Armenian hospital in 1916, a year after the alleged genocide.
