Haik Rebellion

The formation of independent states in the Balkans in the course of
the 19th c. had been a particularly traumatic and bloody affair.
Although atrocities were committed on both sides, only the Christian
deaths have caused a reaction in Europe. Muslim deaths were largely
ignored. In his excellent book "Death and Exile", Professor Justin
McCarty investigates the toll of 100 years of wars in terms of Muslim deaths,

Taking their example from the liberation of the Balkan nations,
the Haik dreamed of a liberation of their own. In return for the
benevolence of their Ottoman masters and of the Turkish people towards
them for centuries, they responded with ingratitude and rebellion. They
were never deterred by the fact that, unlike their Balkan counterparts,
who constituted a majority of the population in the liberated
territories, the Haik had never been a majority in Eastern Anatolia, in
the lands under Ottoman control. Instead, they:

Haik Revolutionary Societies

A report, which appeared in NYT on September 24, 1896, suggested: "Armenian
revolutionary societies now existing [in Constantinople] are five in
number. The members of these societies … are bound by the most solemn
oaths to bring about the ruin of the Ottoman Empire and to force the
European powers to intervene in Turkey". As we know today, the Haik
are still using this most despicable and characterless of tactics to
get their wishes fulfilled: Begging foreign powers (today, foreign
parliaments) to intervene on their behalf and convincing politicians by
producing shameless lies. The terrorists then, like in the 1980s with ASALA, do not refrain from even the lowest of acts in moving towards their goal. Another report in New York Times in October 4, 1895, reveals how they can kill even their own in cold blood: "Commenting
on the murder of Garabed Agha [Chief man of the Protestant community,
and Chairman of the Council of Thirty, which was responsible for the
peace of the city], the Rev. George E. White, an American missionary of
the Congregationalist School ar Morsovan, wrote as follows: There are
two parties of Armenians. Some say: "We must be loyal to the Turkish
Government. We cannot effect a revolution. We are too few." Others say:
" We will assasinate and stir up until we overturn this Turkish
Government". And the revolutionalists are ready to kill any of their
brother Armenians or missionaries who do not help on the rebellion.
They killed Garabed Agha because he would not help on the rebellion".

Dashnakzootioun: Tiblisi

Armenakan:

The first revolutionary Haik party, which would adopt terrorism as
political means, was founded in 1885 in Van and modeled as a European
organization. One of its leaders was Migirdic Portakalian, in charge of
printing the official publication of Armenakan, Armenia. He was the son
of a rich Constantinople banker, and lived in Marseilles, France. The
other two leaders were locals: Hirinian, who was Patriarch of Van; and
Migirdic Terlemezian, who was in charge of developing the Youth Arm of
the movement.

Hinchak

The first political entity inspired by revolutionary Marxist
principles, the Hinchak Party was founded in 1887 by Haik youth
studying in Geneva, Switzerland, who were Russian citizens. Hinchak
means "Bell" in Haik. Russians had a revolutionary party called Bell in
Russian, from which the Hinchakists had taken their inspiration.

Rangavar

October 1, 1921. Active in Van.

Haik Acts of Rebellion and Terrorism

The organized nature and provocative character of the earlier phases
of Haik terrorism were reported quite fairly in the American press,
particularly in the Ney York Times. One striking example of reporting
of the deliberate provocations instigated by the Haik rebels is a
statement in New York Times, which appeared on October 20, 1895, in
relation to the events at Kumkapi (see below). The statement says: "The
theory of the Armenian Hunchagist revolutionary party seems to be that
its special work is to enlighten the world about the true character of
Turkey. Leaving aside chimerical schemes for revolt against
overwhelming numbers, they limit their operations to exciting the Turk
until he shows himself as he is. They hold that Turkey is a wolf in
sheep’s clothing. If they twist the tail of the beast, he will forget
and stain the snowy fleece with blood every time, although the fact
that he needs a white fleece for the preservation of his disguise is
perfectly well known to the reputed wolf". Only 2 months prior to
that, the same newspaper had published a striking analysis, by the
Associated Press correspondent upon his visit to Turkey after the
Sasson incident, of the Haik character in general and of the British
involvment in the Ottoman-Haik affairs, in particular: "The reason
why English public opinion is generally in favor of the Armenians is
both political and religious. No real esteem for the Armenians
themselves exists in England. Besides, everybody admits in Europe that
Armenians, as a race, are much inferior to the Turks. Armenians, even
in olden times, showed no greatness. Their influence in the world has
been absolutely nil. In science, in art, in literature, in warlike
achievements, they have left no trace. But, they are Christians, and
this is one reason why English public opinion is in their favor. The
political reason lies in the fact that England wishe to harass Turkey
for the just opposition of the latter to English scandalous
encroachments on Egyptian territory, which, after all, belong
legitimately to the Sultan. It is just as if England has taken
possession of one of your States and, at the same time, were fomenting
discontent for, and disapprobation of, your treatment of the Indian
race which Colombus found supreme on this continent."Unfortunately,
the impartial nature of the New York Times would change by 1915, when
NYT would change hands. In 1915 alone, there were 194 articles
published, all feverishly in favor of Haik lies and propaganda.

The First Rebellion:

Erzurum (1890)

 

Sassoon

Zeitoon

Siege and Occupation of the Haik Patriarchate in Kumkapi (1895)

This is the first Haik event in the capital of the Empire. Before
the Haik, the Greeks, the Bulgars or the Macedons had never dared
undertake military action in Constantinople. The Haik were the first
minority of the Empire insolent enough to do that. On the morning of
September 30, 1895, a number of protestors set off from the Haik
Patriarchate in Kumkapi,
towards the residence of the Grand Vizier, after having publicly
declared that they intended to cause trouble. On the way, they killed
the cavalry officer who was in charge of a platoon attempting to
control the pervasive Hintchakist elements inside the procession. Large
scale unrest ensued in the city, and many Haik ended up dead on the
streets at the hands of the mob, or at the security headquarters, at
the hands of the police.

 

The Raid on Bab-i Ali

Bab-i Ali (The High Gate) was the seat of the Ottoman Government.
Therefore, the raid was a direct challenge on Ottoman authority. Major
street clashes ensued, in which 900 Muslims and 700 Haik would die.

Raid on the Ottoman Bank

On August 26, 1896, a handful of Haik terrorists raided
the Ottoman Bank in Istanbul, in what the Haik scholar Libaridian would
later call "The first act of urban terrorism". These terrorists would
set an example for similar acts that would follow in the 20th c., such
as the taking as hostages, and later killing, of the Israeli Olympic
team members during the 1970 Munich Olympiads. Such terroristic acts
would always be characterized by taking of hostages and presenting a
list of demands, mostly for the release of their comrades, recognition
of their cause, a large sum of money to be paid to them, and safe
passage for themselves. Unfortunately, their wish was granted and the
terrorists left the bank, escorted by the Russian Embassy’s dragoman,
taken to the private yacht, Gulnare, of bank governor Sir Edward Vincent, and sailed to France.

World War I

Haik Relocation

A very legitimate move, much like the US relocation of Japanese Americans
during WWII, from the Pacific Coast to more centrally located
internment camps. The difference between the Japanese and Haik
relocations was that there were no proof that the former collaborated
with US war time enemies, while there was plenty of proof that the
latter were in full collaboration with both Russians on the
northwestern and the French on the southwestern war zones. The
possessions of the refugees at their home towns were meticulously noted
in order to be re-issued to their proper owners upon their return at
war’s end. Furthermore, the State mechanism was operated at its fullest
extent in order to take care of the refugees not only on route but also
at destination (Click here for the original document, its transliteration, and translation)

Paris Peace Conference

One of the most important witnesses, albeit unintentional, to the
fact that the Haik have been anything but unarmed and innocent before,
during and after the relocations, has been none other the very leaders
of the Haik intellectual, political and military organization and
eventual uprising. Along with Aharonian, Boghos Nubar Pasha was the co-chair of the Haik delegation that attended the Paris Peace conference in 1918, at the conclusion of WWI. The Allies had began to make plans for the partition of and determining the spheres of influence
in the Ottoman territories among themselves long before the end of the
War. With the signing of the Mundros Armistice, with which the Ottoman
Empire officially and internationally admitted a most humiliating
defeat on all battle fronts, time had finally come to ratify these
plans on the negotiation table as well. Paris Peace Conference was
nothing else than a meeting among gentlemen, who would agree which part
of the Empire would go to whom. Naturaly, Boghos Nubar was anxious to
let the Allies know, in no uncertain terms and before the partition was
over, that the Haik had been "de facto belligerents" since the
beginning of the War and they they, too, had a right to a slice of the
Ottoman pie, and a big slice
, at that. Little did he know that, what he innocently admitted in his
letters to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the New York
Times immediately before the Conference would be the most damning
evidence against the Haik claims to innocence, one century later. Turks
are forever grateful to the Pasha today, for his honesty and his
fortitude.letterletter (original)letterNubar’s
numbers for surviving deportees are corraborated by another surprising
(and unwilling) witness: Henry Morgenthau, the arch-Armenophile US
Ambasador to Constantinople, who influenced NY Times to publish almost
200 anti-Ottoman articles in the year 1915 alone, among the other
anti-Turkish propaganda that he tirelessly spread throughout his
carrier and his life. In a letter,
Morgenthau complained about the situation of the refugees but, in so
doing, revealed the number of the survivors at almost 500,000, as a
testimony for the future generations of Armenians to read and learn
from… and then hide in a dark corner lest their lie be exposed.

Confessions from Haik Sources for Acts of Rebellion, Conspiracy and Treason

There are innumerable examples in the preserved literature, where
various Haik committees pleaded for national independence while
boasting about their own acts of rebellion and terrorism against their
own legitimate government. Little did they know, in their greed for
land, that once their rebellion was suppressed, history would judge
them not as heros and martyrs (as they themselves claim to be), but as
terrorists and enemies of the State, which has every right to deal them
the harsh treatment that every traitor deserves.

• One such example is a 1913 confidential memorandum entitled "The
  Armenian Question and the Solutions It Entails: A Project for the
  Armenian Autonomy in Cilicia. Confidential Memorandum Presented to the
  Consuls of the Great Powers in Cilicia by the Armenian Committee for
  National Defense". The third clause
  of the report clearly enumerates the deeds of the Haik insurgents as
  follows: 3. If one upholds the principle upon which a nation aspiring
  to her liberty should pay for it the price of her own blood, then one
  submits that the Armenian Nation has acquired that right by the
  repeated insurrections of Sassoun and Zeitoun; by the bloody
  demonstrations of Constantinople in 1890, 1895, and 1896; by the
  various revolutionary movements that she attempted across all parts of
  Armenia and Cilicia; and by the devoted efforts deployed by her
  innumerable heros and martyrs".

• A most damning document by the mouth of a highest level
  official came from Hovhannes Kachaznouni, the leader of the
  Dashnakzootioun movement and, later, the first President of the
  Republic of Armenia in 1921. In the annual party congress held in
  Bucharest, Hungary in 1923, Kachaznouni addressed the General Assembly
  with a speech that he later had printed and bound as a book entitled "The Dashnaksootioun Has Nothing to Do Anymore".
  The first, 1923, edition of this book was in Armenian but,
  unfortunately, no copies of it can be found today as the Government of
  the Republic of Armenia" made it a crime to possess, distribute, and
  read this book and had all copies of it removed from circulation. We
  are sure some Haik libraries in Diaspora have it but they are quite
  unwilling to share it for obvious reasons. In a totally serendipitous
  event, a Turkish researcher, Mehmet Perincek, while doing his Ph.D. in
  International Politics, came across a 1928 translation
  of the book into Russian in the Lenin Public Library in Moscow. Current
  translations of this copy into English and Turkish are generally not
  accepted as correct. We are having it translated into English by third
  party translation bureaus.

 

Next: The Era of Haik Forgeries