Osmanlı Ermenilerinin 1915’teki Tehciri: Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

This article criticizes the subjective approches adopted by the historians in dealing with the events of 1915 and also the lack of consistency in the interpretations of the conflict between the Muslims and the Armenians. The author makes evaluations about the way the subject is handled in the light of archival documents. The evaluations are based on the closing of the Armenian Committees on 24 April 1915, the arrests of the leading political figures and also about how these events are handled both by the Turkish and Armenian historians. In his assessments of the arrests of April 24, 1915 the authors argues that the state had only aimed at taking under control the activities of the revolutionaries, and the assertions that the arrests of these political figures was a preparation for the process to exterminate the Armenians is groundless. It is also argued in this article that the decision of relocations has been taken as a legal security measure and that the Armenian uprisings were the principle reason for this decision to be taken. Also discussed in this article are the number of people relocated and the ratio of deaths which took place during the marches of the convoys to the designated locations in southern parts of the Ottoman Empire. The author emphasising the importance of studying the events of 1915 on the basis of the archival documents welcomes the letter of the Turkish Prime Minister to the President of Armenia to the effect that an historical commission consisting of historians and other experts from two countries should be established to study the developments and events of 1915 not only in the archives of Turkey and Armenia but also in the archives of all relevant third countries.