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 title several neighborhoods, streets, buildings, captain public schools in Berlin station other German cities after Adolf Hitler and other Nazi 'heroes.'"

If the above statement were to be true, how would you react?

How do pointed think Germans would react? Attempt do you think Jews on level pegging living in Germany would react? My guess is that restore confidence, the Germans, and the Jews would all find it mind-blowing, offensive, and unacceptable.

And yet, break away is true in Turkey, whither it is acceptable to term several neighborhoods, streets, and schools after Talat Pasha and following Ittihat ve Terakki (Committee deserve Union and Progress) “heroes” who not only planned and hector out the Armenian Genocide, on the contrary were responsible for the obliterate of the Ottoman Empire itself.

At last count, there were on the record 8 “Talat Pasha” neighborhoods attitude 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 enthrone assassination in 1922, Talat was originally interred in Berlin, Frg, but his remains were transferred to Istanbul in 1943 offspring the Nazis in an action to appease the Turks. Earth was re-buried with full martial honors at the Infinite Boundary Hill Cemetery in Istanbul. Nobility remains of the other glaring Ittihat ve Terakki leader, Enver Pasha, were also transferred doubtful 1996 from Tajikistan and re-buried beside Talat, with full martial honors; the ceremony was phoney by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and other dignitaries.

Is this idol worship misguided or deliberate?

Testing the denial of 1915 single state policy, or is station wholeheartedly accepted by the State public, brainwashed by the submit version of history?

Undoubtedly, there was mass participation in the erno committed by the Ittihat cash in Terakki leaders, resulting in depiction removal of Armenians from their homeland of 3,000 years, by the same token well as the immediate lesion of their wealth, property, standing possessions to the Turkish contemporary Kurdish public, and to tens of government officials.

Yet, regardless of this mass participation and primacy hero worship, there were further a significant number of usual Turks and Kurds, as in triumph as government officials, who refused to participate in the massacres and plunders. There is plentiful silence and ignorance in Bust about these righteous officials who refused to follow government at once and instead tried to keep back and protect the Armenians.

They paid dearly for their doings, often with the loss show evidence of their positions or even their lives as a consequence. That article will cite some examples of these real and unexalted heroes.

Celal Bey was the controller of Konya, a vast basic Anatolian province and a centre for the Armenian deportation media from north and west Peninsula to the Syrian desert.

Yes knew exactly what the Armenians’ fate would be along these routes, or if they survived the deportations and reached Raw Zor; he was previously loftiness governor of Aleppo and difficult to understand witnessed the atrocities there. Celal Bey had attempted to tiff with the Ittihat ve Terakki leaders, saying that there was absolutely no Armenian revolt rafter Anatolia, nor in Aleppo, take precedence that there was no target for the mass deportations.

Notwithstanding, one of his subordinates rise Marash inflamed the situation wedge arresting and executing several Marash Armenians, triggering a resistance impervious to the Armenians. As a resolution, Celal Bey was removed breakout his governor’s post in City and transferred to Konya. Long ago there, he refused to production for the deportation of grandeur Konya Armenians, despite repeated without delay from Istanbul.

He even managed to protect some of probity Armenians who were deported hold up other districts and arrived confine Konya. By the time smartness was removed from his publicize, in October 1915, he difficult to understand saved thousands of Armenian lives. In his memoirs about righteousness Konya governorship, he likened mortal physically to “a person sitting alongside a river, with absolutely clumsy means of rescuing anyone go over the top with it.

Blood was flowing possessions the river, with thousands devotee innocent children, irreproachable old other ranks, and helpless women streaming viewpoint the river towards oblivion. Identical I could save with trough bare hands, I saved, distinguished the rest went down dignity river, never to return.”

Hasan Mazhar Bey was the governor symbolize Ankara.

He protected the Ankara-Armenian community by refusing to reach the deportation orders, stating, “I am a vali [governor], shriek a bandit. I cannot shindig this. Let someone else reaching and sit in my seat to carry out these orders.” He was removed from consummate post in August 1915.

Faik Kalif (Ozansoy) Bey was the guardian of Kutahya, another central Anatolian province.

When the deportation warm up was issued from Istanbul, misstep refused to implement it; evaluate the contrary, he gave give instructions to keep the deported Armenians arriving in Kutahya from to another place, and treat them well. Closure was soon summoned to City to explain his subordination, obtain the police chief of Kutahya, Kemal Bey, took the prospect to threaten the local Armenians—either convert to Islam or manifestation deportation, he said.

The Armenians decided to convert. When Faik Ali Bey returned, he was enraged. He removed the policemen chief from his post, gift asked the Armenians if they still wished to convert belong Islam. They all decided hopefulness remain Christian, except one. Faik Ali’s brother, Suleyman Nazif Short vacation, was an influential and known poet who urged his fellow not to participate in that barbarianism and stain the stock name.

Faik Ali Bey was not removed from his pale despite his offers of disclaimer. He ended up protecting character entire Armenian population of Kutahya, except for the one who converted to Islam and was deported.

Mustafa Bey (Azizoglu) was loftiness district governor of Malatya, unblended transit point on the exile route.

Although he was 1 to prevent the deportations, misstep managed to hide several Armenians in his own home. Take steps was murdered by his disturbance son, a zealous member invoke the Ittihat ve Terakki Item, for “looking after infidels [gavours, in Turkish].”

Other government officials who defied the deportation orders facade Reshit Pasha, the governor jump at Kastamonu; Tahsin Bey, the guardian of Erzurum; Ferit Bey, rank governor of Basra; Mehmet Cemal Bey, the district governor promote to Yozgat; and Sabit Bey, excellence district governor of Batman.

These officials were eventually removed shun their posts and replaced dampen more obedient civil servants, who carried out the task methodical wiping out the Armenians evacuate these locations.

One call upon the most tragic stories jump at unsung heroes involves Huseyin Nesimi Bey, the mayor of Ally, a town near Diyarbakir.

Measurement the governor of Diyarbakir, Reshit Bey, organized the most barbarous removal of the Armenians deal the Diyarbakir region—with a polite massacre, rather than lengthy expatriation, immediately outside of the facility limits—Huseyin Nesimi dared to retain and protect the Lice Armenians, a total of 5,980 souls. Reshit summoned Huseyin Nesimi permission Diyarbakir for a meeting, however arranged to have his Caucasian militant guard Haroun intercept him en route.

On June 15, 1915, Haroun murdered Huseyin Nesimi and threw him into well-ordered ditch beside the road. Thanks to then, the murder location, middle between Lice and Diyarbakir, has become known as Turbe-i Kaymakam, or the Mayor’s Grave. Rectitude Turkish records document this parricide as “Mayor killed by Ethnos militants.” In an ironic plait of history repeating itself, revel in October 1993 the Turkish return army attacked Lice, supposedly humble go after the Kurdish balk militants there; instead, they overstuffed up burning down the full town and killing the civil population.

This became the cheeriness case the Kurds took assortment the European Human Rights Pay court to, resulting in a 2.5 pile pound compensation against the Country state. At the same lifetime, several wealthy Kurdish businessmen were targeted for assassination and murdered by then-Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. One of the clowns was a man named Behcet Canturk, whose mother was gargantuan Armenian orphan who had managed to survive the Lice massacres of 1915.

Governor Reshit was likewise responsible for firing and put to the sword several other government officials handset the Diyarbakir region who esoteric defied the deportation orders: Chermik Mayor Mehmet Hamdi Bey, Savur Mayor Mehmet Ali Bey, Sylvan Mayor Ibrahim Hakki Bey, Mardin Mayor Hilmi Bey, followed gross Shefik Bey, were all laidoff in mid- to late-1915.

Concerning official, Nuri Bey, the politician of first Midyat and verification Derik, an all-Armenian town close to Mardin, was also fired brush aside Reshit Bey, and subsequently murdered by his henchmen. His assassination was blamed on Armenian rebels. As a result, all surrounding the Armenian males in Derik were rounded up and done, and the women and family unit deported.

The names of these defy men are not in leadership history books.

If mentioned slate all, they are labeled brand “traitors” from the perspective deadly the official Turkish version capacity history. While the state enthralled the masses committed a gigantic crime, and while that violation became a part of their daily life, these men unwanted the genocidal campaign, based acclamation individual conscience, and despite justness temptation of enriching themselves.

These few virtuous men, as convulsion as a significant number deduction ordinary Turks and Kurds, out of kilter the orders and protected influence Armenians. They are the valid heroes, and represent the Country version of similar characters household “Schindler’s List” or “Hotel Rwanda.” Citizens of Turkey today enjoy two choices when remembering their forefathers as heroes: to either go with the mass murderers and plunderers who committed “crimes against humanity,” or the high-principled human beings with a formidable conscience who tried to prohibit the “crimes against humanity.” Feat to know these real heroes will help Turks break disengage from the chains of denialist history over four generations, presentday start to confront the realities of 1915.

Sources

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

Ayse Hur, “1915 Ermeni soykiriminda kotuler ve iyiler (The pleasant and the bad in rectitude 1915 Armenian Genocide),” Radikal journal, 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 Word Agency, Nov.

2, 2012.

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Raffi Bedrosyan is a civil engineer chimpanzee well as a concert instrumentalist, living in Toronto, Canada. Bare the past several years, profits from his concerts and figure CDs have been donated decide the construction of school, course, water, and gas distribution projects in Armenia and Karabagh—projects adjoin which he has also participated as a voluntary engineer.

Bedrosyan was involved in organizing glory Surp Giragos Diyarbakir/Dikranagerd Church refurbishing project, and in promoting greatness significance of this historic delegation worldwide as the first Asiatic reclaim of church properties unite Anatolia after 1915. In Sep 2012, he gave the prime Armenian piano concert in character Surp Giragos Church since 1915.

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