Remembering Governor Faik Ali Bey and his open letter to Armenians of Kütahya

October 1, 2013 is 63rd anniversary of the death of Faik Ali Ozansoy, who was Governor of Kütahya in 1915. Armenian Genocide Commemoration Program carried out in Istanbul on April 24 included a visit to his graveyard. He was highly praised on account of protecting lives of Armenians in Kütahya (Günaysu).

Stepan Stepanyan, a teacher from Adapazari, who found rescue in Kütahya together with his wife in 1915 wrote about Faik Ali Bey 46 years later and sent the text to Arshak Boyajian who included it to the book titled Memoirs of Kütahya Armenians  [Kütahya Ermenileri Anı Kitabı] which was published in Lebanon in 1961. Faik Ali Bey was informed about relocation before it was announced by his brother. He queried about local Armenians at the City Council and had it recorded that they were contributing to the socio-economic life of the province and views about them were positive. So when orders from the government to deport Armenians arrived, he not only refused to do so but also gave orders for the protection and care of Armenians from Adapazarı, İzmit, Eskişehir and Bursa who came to Kütahya to find refuge. Particularly those who were craftsman were distributed to towns and villages together with their families to practice their crafts. The situation was reported to Talat Pasha and the governor was immediately called to Istanbul to be questioned. Ozansoy explained that Armenians in Kütahya were not causing any trouble, they were contributing to the socio-economic life in the province and submitted his resignation. Talat Pasha did not accept his resignation and allowed him to keep Armenians in Kütahya under his care and control (Çakır). 

Armenian community in Kütahya decided to place an inscription of gratitude in the garden of the church for Governor Faik Ali Bey. Faik Ali Bey's open letter to Kütahya Armenian deputy [murahhas vekili] Sahak Effendi published in Tasviri Efkar on January [Kanunisani] 9, 1919 was an important call to Armenians beyond saying thank you in response (Çakır): 

... With my thanks, I would like to call your attention to a more important duty than the one you have owned yourselves as a responsibility to express your gratitude to my humble self: You know very well that as I undertook the responsibility of protecting you as an official duty and conscientious responsibility within my capacity, Muslim people of Kütahya in the city and environs shared the same opinion and feelings with me and showed hospitality to innumerable Armenian families who sought shelter in our province where they arrived with great difficulties because of ferocity of the events. Local or outlander, all of you observed that we secured your lives, your property and your chastity. Your greatest responsibility is not to forget this.

No, it is not enough not to forget. It is a conscientious responsibility for you to announce to the whole world and to the humanity, as loud as possible, that all those events were murders of some villainous traitors and Turkish citizens turned away from them. Yes, do announce together with us that Armenians are victims and excusable as much as Turks, and Turks are victims and excusable as much as Armenians.

Attributing the sin of this war and atrocities to the history of all humankind by removing them from the registry of deeds of those who actually caused them will not only be violating the spirit of truth and integrity, and if millions of innocent individuals of a society are to be held responsible and reproached for the Armenian case which is a part of the calamity of war and was perpetrated by a few or maybe several hundred people, this will be overwhelmingly offensive to divine retribution and sense of justice,which we all seek in great destitute and await forlornly.

If you, too, joining us, make a case for the importance of this fact and announce it, you will demonstrate that it is not that you are in need of justice only for yourselves and you demand it but that you are advocates of it absolutely and that you cherish the ideal of justice, thereby showing that you deserve it twice as much and prove that you are worthy of it.

With my deepest respect and wishes for the continuation of your hearty affection, 

Yours sincerely,

Faik Ali

I think his message is quite clear. I guess organizers of the program on April 24 would not visit him on that they if they knew about this letter. They would understand why his family opposed to their visit on that day and suggested that if a visit of gratitude is to be paid, it should be on the anniversary of his death (Günal).

I can not make a guess how many grandchildren of 5.000 Armenians who found refuge in Kütahya live around the world today. I wonder if they know about this legacy of Faik Ali Bey. Can I suggest that each of them shares this letter with a non-Armenian friend and Ara Sarafian, who is one of these grandchildren, includes this letter into one of his publications and keeps it on Gomidas web site. And who knows maybe a group arranges a visit for next 1st October or October 1st, 2015.

Sources

Çakır, Dr. Ömer. Birlikte Yaşamak: Faik Âli Bey Ve Kütahya Ermenileri. http://turkiye-ermenileri.blogspot.com/2006/11/birlikte-yaamak-faik-li-bey-ve-ktahya.html

Gunaysu, Ayse. "Names of Lost Armenian Villages Read in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square," The Armenian Weekly, April 25, 2013. http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/04/25/names-of-lost-armenian-villages-read-in-istanbuls-sultanahmet-square/

Günal, Bülent. "Yarın bir ilk yaşanacak:  Binlerce Ermeni'nin hayatını kurtarmıştı, " HaberTürk Gazete, 23 Nisan 2013 http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/838375-yarin-bir-ilk-yasanacak.