Missing Ottoman Archival Records on the Armenian Genocide, 1915
by Nora Vosbigian
London, 7 March 2007: Today the Gomidas Institute issued its third statement on its proposal to work on a case study with Turkish historians regarding the treatment of Armenians in Harput in 1915.[1] The Institute's latest statement follows a comment made by Dr. Yusuf Halaçoğlu, the head of the Turkish Historical Society, that vital Ottoman records on the 1915 deportation of Armenians--including in Harput--do not exist in Turkish archives today.
These "non-existent" records are directly related to two Ottoman decrees which Turkish official historians have claimed regulated the deportation and resettlement of Ottoman Armenians in 1915. These were the 30 May 1915 regulations on deportations,[2] and the 10 June 1915 regulations on the resettlement of deportees, the liquidation of their properties, and their compensation in their places of exile.[3]
The Gomidas Institute had asked, based on these regulations, to examine the registers showing details of Armenians who were deported from the Harput plain, as well as the resettlement records accounting for the fate of these deportees further a field. According to these regulations, all deported Armenian had to be registered, person by person (or household by household), village by village; the properties of deportees had to be recorded and liquidated; when the deported were resettled in their places of exile, they had to be compensated in proportion to their original assets. According to these regulations, Ottoman officials had to generate meticulous deportation, resettlement and compensation records which accounted for Armenians who were deported in 1915.
On Monday 26 February 2007 Dr. Halaçoğlu appeared on CNN- Turk's "Manþet" programme where he stated, categorically, that the Ottoman records the Gomidas Institute had asked to examine did not exist. Halaçoğlu stated that : "He [Sarafian] well knows about the archives. He also knows that there are no records for each village listing persons by name. There are no such records. If there were, they would not pose a problem for us. It would be better to produce them."[4] To date Dr. Halaçoğlu has not contacted and explained himself to the Gomidas Institute.
It is not clear how Dr. Halaçoğlu could make such a categorical statement about the non-existence of the Ottoman records we had asked for, given the texts of the Ottoman regulations governing deportations in 1915, or the fact that there are many Ottoman archives in Turkey, and not all Ottoman records in these archives are catalogued. Until there is further clarification, Dr. Halaçoğlu's statement only raises some fundamental questions:
1. Were Ottoman regulations on the 1915 deportations implemented according to the letter of the law? If so, why are we told that the registers related to this mass transfer of people are missing? Are all records missing, for the whole Empire, in both local as well as central archives?
2. If these regulations were not implemented, how was the movement of Armenians, the liquidation of their properties, and the resettlement of deportees regulated? Is it conceivable that none of these regulations were implemented for the whole of the Ottoman Empire from Erzeroum to Yozgat, Izmit and Kayseri? If so, where is the archival trail in Ottoman archives associated with the actual course of events?
3. Is it possible that no records were kept for either deportation or resettlement? If so, was this the case for the whole of the Ottoman Empire, and why were no records kept?
4. If records were kept and then destroyed, why and when were they destroyed? And were they destroyed for the whole of the Ottoman Empire, in both local as well as central archives in Turkey?
5. Is it possible that Dr. Halaçoğlu might be mistaken? Might some of the records we have asked for exist? Is it possible that there might be deportation records, as well as records related to the liquidation of Armenian properties, but no corresponding resettlement records?
According to Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute, London), "Primary sources outside of Turkey indicate that the 1915 deportation of Armenians and the liquidation of their properties were regulated by Ottoman state authorities. Armenians were deported under the auspices of Ottoman officials. And most deportees were killed through privations and outright massacres on their way or in their places of exile (most notably Der Zor). Our sources indicate that there never was a resettlement programme as historians defending the official Turkish thesis suggest."
The Gomidas Institute hopes that Dr. Halaçoğlu will explain why he thinks that the Ottoman deportation and resettlement registers the Gomidas Institute requested do not exist--especially those on Harput and its environs.
NOTES
1. For the first two Gomidas Institute statements see http://www.gomidas.org/press/20Feb07PressRelease.htm and http://www.gomidas.org/press/26Feb07PressRelease.htm For the third statement (in Turkish) see http://www.gomidas.org/press/7Mar07PressReleaseTurkish.htm
2 Ottoman Ministry of Interior, Department of Settlement of Tribes and Immigrants, "Regulations Related to Settlement and Board and Lodging and Other Affairs of Armenians Relocated to Other Places Because of War Conditions and Emergency Political Requirements, May 30, 1915" in Turkish Prime Ministry Directorate-General of Press and Information, Documents on Ottoman Armenians, Vol. 2 [n.d.], Document no. 12, pp. 91-93. See copy
http://www.gomidas.org/press/30May1915Regulations.htm
3 "The Regulation Concerning the Management of the Land and Properties Belonging to Armenians Who Have Been Sent Elsewhere as a Result of the State of War and the Extraordinary Political Situation" in Turkish Prime Ministry Directorate-General of Press and Information, Documents [on Ottoman Armenians], Vol. 1 [n.d.], Document no. 28, pp. 76-80. See copy http://www.gomidas.org/press/10June1915Regulations.htm
4 The Turkish transcript of what Dr. Halacoglu said is as follows: "Arşivlerin nasıl olduğunu kendisi [Sarafian] gayet iyi biliyor. Orada her köyden tek tek, isim isim kimlerin nakledilmiş olduğunu bulamayacağını kendisi de biliyor. Öyle bir kayıt zaten yok. olmuş olsa zaten bizim için problem olmaz, daha güzel ortaya konabilir."
London, 7 March 2007: Today the Gomidas Institute issued its third statement on its proposal to work on a case study with Turkish historians regarding the treatment of Armenians in Harput in 1915.[1] The Institute's latest statement follows a comment made by Dr. Yusuf Halaçoğlu, the head of the Turkish Historical Society, that vital Ottoman records on the 1915 deportation of Armenians--including in Harput--do not exist in Turkish archives today.
These "non-existent" records are directly related to two Ottoman decrees which Turkish official historians have claimed regulated the deportation and resettlement of Ottoman Armenians in 1915. These were the 30 May 1915 regulations on deportations,[2] and the 10 June 1915 regulations on the resettlement of deportees, the liquidation of their properties, and their compensation in their places of exile.[3]
The Gomidas Institute had asked, based on these regulations, to examine the registers showing details of Armenians who were deported from the Harput plain, as well as the resettlement records accounting for the fate of these deportees further a field. According to these regulations, all deported Armenian had to be registered, person by person (or household by household), village by village; the properties of deportees had to be recorded and liquidated; when the deported were resettled in their places of exile, they had to be compensated in proportion to their original assets. According to these regulations, Ottoman officials had to generate meticulous deportation, resettlement and compensation records which accounted for Armenians who were deported in 1915.
On Monday 26 February 2007 Dr. Halaçoğlu appeared on CNN- Turk's "Manþet" programme where he stated, categorically, that the Ottoman records the Gomidas Institute had asked to examine did not exist. Halaçoğlu stated that : "He [Sarafian] well knows about the archives. He also knows that there are no records for each village listing persons by name. There are no such records. If there were, they would not pose a problem for us. It would be better to produce them."[4] To date Dr. Halaçoğlu has not contacted and explained himself to the Gomidas Institute.
It is not clear how Dr. Halaçoğlu could make such a categorical statement about the non-existence of the Ottoman records we had asked for, given the texts of the Ottoman regulations governing deportations in 1915, or the fact that there are many Ottoman archives in Turkey, and not all Ottoman records in these archives are catalogued. Until there is further clarification, Dr. Halaçoğlu's statement only raises some fundamental questions:
1. Were Ottoman regulations on the 1915 deportations implemented according to the letter of the law? If so, why are we told that the registers related to this mass transfer of people are missing? Are all records missing, for the whole Empire, in both local as well as central archives?
2. If these regulations were not implemented, how was the movement of Armenians, the liquidation of their properties, and the resettlement of deportees regulated? Is it conceivable that none of these regulations were implemented for the whole of the Ottoman Empire from Erzeroum to Yozgat, Izmit and Kayseri? If so, where is the archival trail in Ottoman archives associated with the actual course of events?
3. Is it possible that no records were kept for either deportation or resettlement? If so, was this the case for the whole of the Ottoman Empire, and why were no records kept?
4. If records were kept and then destroyed, why and when were they destroyed? And were they destroyed for the whole of the Ottoman Empire, in both local as well as central archives in Turkey?
5. Is it possible that Dr. Halaçoğlu might be mistaken? Might some of the records we have asked for exist? Is it possible that there might be deportation records, as well as records related to the liquidation of Armenian properties, but no corresponding resettlement records?
According to Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute, London), "Primary sources outside of Turkey indicate that the 1915 deportation of Armenians and the liquidation of their properties were regulated by Ottoman state authorities. Armenians were deported under the auspices of Ottoman officials. And most deportees were killed through privations and outright massacres on their way or in their places of exile (most notably Der Zor). Our sources indicate that there never was a resettlement programme as historians defending the official Turkish thesis suggest."
The Gomidas Institute hopes that Dr. Halaçoğlu will explain why he thinks that the Ottoman deportation and resettlement registers the Gomidas Institute requested do not exist--especially those on Harput and its environs.
NOTES
1. For the first two Gomidas Institute statements see http://www.gomidas.org/press/20Feb07PressRelease.htm and http://www.gomidas.org/press/26Feb07PressRelease.htm For the third statement (in Turkish) see http://www.gomidas.org/press/7Mar07PressReleaseTurkish.htm
2 Ottoman Ministry of Interior, Department of Settlement of Tribes and Immigrants, "Regulations Related to Settlement and Board and Lodging and Other Affairs of Armenians Relocated to Other Places Because of War Conditions and Emergency Political Requirements, May 30, 1915" in Turkish Prime Ministry Directorate-General of Press and Information, Documents on Ottoman Armenians, Vol. 2 [n.d.], Document no. 12, pp. 91-93. See copy
http://www.gomidas.org/press/30May1915Regulations.htm
3 "The Regulation Concerning the Management of the Land and Properties Belonging to Armenians Who Have Been Sent Elsewhere as a Result of the State of War and the Extraordinary Political Situation" in Turkish Prime Ministry Directorate-General of Press and Information, Documents [on Ottoman Armenians], Vol. 1 [n.d.], Document no. 28, pp. 76-80. See copy http://www.gomidas.org/press/10June1915Regulations.htm
4 The Turkish transcript of what Dr. Halacoglu said is as follows: "Arşivlerin nasıl olduğunu kendisi [Sarafian] gayet iyi biliyor. Orada her köyden tek tek, isim isim kimlerin nakledilmiş olduğunu bulamayacağını kendisi de biliyor. Öyle bir kayıt zaten yok. olmuş olsa zaten bizim için problem olmaz, daha güzel ortaya konabilir."
Labels: Armenian Genocide Historical
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