April in History : Commemorations, Celebrations, Remembrances

"Today in History” search  on the Internet  for  21 April brings up foundation of Rome in 753 BC. It seems no other important event has taken place on this particular day in the West. Genocide alleger Armenians, their supporters, and those who take the opportunity to defame Turks and Turkey on 24 April are making preparations for the 104th Commemoration of the Alleged Armenian Genocide.

In fact 21 April was a very happy day for the Dashnak militia and all separatist Armenians in 1915 because “following the capture of Van, the Russian Czar Nicola II sent a telegram to the Armenian Committee at Van on April 21, 1915 to thank them for the services they rendered to Russia” (Binark, p. 55, 2007).

The Armenians call Van uprising Defense of Van or, the Siege of Van or Van Resistance (19 April – 17 May 1915) and in the Western sources, it is usually claimed that “the Ottoman government deliberately instigated the armed Armenian resistance by enforcing the conditions on their subjects  used this insurgency as a main pretext to justify the forced deportations of Armenians from all over the empire” (Defense of Van, Wikipedia, n.d.). If the uprising were insignificant not requiring serious measures to be taken, would the Czar send such a telegram? How insignificant can be to cede a city to the enemy?

Let’s have a look at some quotations from the witnesses of the events as covered by Binark (2007, p. 55):

Rafael de Nogales, "recorded the atrocities and genocide of Armenians at Van as follows" in his book titled Four Years Beneath the Crescent which was published in 1926:

"As soon as the combats started, the Deputy for Erzurum in the Assembly, Garo Pastırmacıyan, went to Russia together with almost all of the Armenian officers and soldiers in the Third Army. Soon after coming back with them, he began putting fire to villages and pitiless killing every innocent Muslim he could get in hand. We learned that, after the Governor of Van, Cevdet Bey, abandoned Van, the Armenians became master of the town and slaughtered every Muslim, regardless of whether they are men, women, children, or aged people. Such savagery has not been seen anywhere.”

The observation made by Clair Price in connection with the Armenian massacres, which was published in her book titled The Rebirth of Turkey (1923) are as follows:

"The Armenian bands occupied Van at the end of April and, after subjecting the Turkish people to massacres, handed over to Russians the remainder in June."

 Yet another foreign writer, Felix Valyi records that

"Armenian revolutionaries took control of the town of Van in April. They established an Armenian General Staff under the command of Aram and Vardan and on May handed over the province of Van to Russian forces, cleaned of all Muslims."

Those, who may feel suspicious about these quotations can check the archives and see the Armenian newspaper "Gochnak", published in America, which reported with great pride that "only 1500 Turks remained at Van" after the Armenian atrocities and massacres, in its issue of May 24, 1915.

Eskişehir Provincial Organization  of the Talat Paşa Committee has recently made a proposal for 21 April to be assigned as Remembrance Day of the Massacres and Atrocities Perpetrated upon the Turks, a memorial and a museum to be built in Ankara to raise the awareness about the allegations and the facts. In the  proposal document it has been stated that “the number of Turks killed in the First World War in the province of Van, where the Armenian attacks were the most intense, was 217.132.” Some figures from the findings of Justin McCarthy are also given as follows: “31% of the Muslim population in Erzurum province, 42% in Bitlis province and 62% in Van province were massacred. In April 1915, the Armenians started to culminate on April 21, and the 2nd Van rebellion led to the burning of innocent civilians in schools, mosques and barns.” Cumhuriyet Kadınları Derneği (Republican Women's Association) has announced that they support the proposal.

I remember my grandaunt who was harassed, and stabbed to death together with her husband and their baby son by the Dashnaks in those days. Not only her, but I also remember all victims of wars. Therefore, I suggest that Armenians and their supporters realize that all parties had losses and suffered seriously, and that we  honor the memory of all those who suffered during the dark war days, and pay tribute to their memories. We remember both Meds Yeghern and Mezalim together, without blaming each other, and wishing never to face a war again. 

In between 21 and 24 April, we celebrate the establishment of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 23 April 1920, which is a milestone in our rebirth. The day is dedicated to the children by Atatürk.  Long live the Republic of Turkey, with all your colors!

Binark, İ. (2007). Archive Documents About The Atrocities And Genocide Inflicted Upon Turks By Armenians. https://web.itu.edu.tr/~altilar/tobi/e-library/UponTurks/Chap1-2.pdf