Peaceful (???) Armenians Persecuting Protestant Armenians
What kind of lie is this? If you follow my previous posts on the blog, you may very well know I revealed several Turks, Turkish Agents, Georgians, Self Hating (sic) Jews and denialists who received blood money from Turks for denying the first genocide of 20th century. Again, British Officer Major Trotter, acting in consular functions in Anatolia, who is a Turk, Turkish Agent, Georgian, Self Hating (sic) Jew and denialist, who dared to give reports invalidating Dashnak (Nazi) Armenians' myth of innocence, continues his reports from Anatolia regarding the events over there.
This time Major Trotter reports that peaceful Armenians persecuted Protestant Armenians of their neighborhood. Since Armenians were wealthy people, unlike Turks, they were able to purchase Cadis (Moslem Judges). The strangest of all, despite Protestant Armenians were beaten by Gregorian Armenians, the Cadi, purchased by Armenians, decides against Protestant Armenians and guess what a Moslem Member of the Cadi's court leaves the tribunal in order to not sign such unjust decree.
In addition Major Trotter also mention about how Turkish Aghas oppress Protestant Armenians, but then he states that tribe a situation probably indicating that he is PROBABLY mistaking Kurds for Turks, because Kurds live by tribes not Turks.
Anyway read your self and let the truth be told.
No More Discrimination
No. 190
Major Trotter to the Marquis of Salisbury.
| My Lord, | DIARBEKIR, April 19, 1879. (Received May 19.) |
I HAVE the honour to forward a copy of my despatch of the 16th April to address of Her Majesty’s Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople.
I have, &c.
(Signed) HENRY TROTTER.
Turkey No 10 (1879), p. 73, No. 35
Inclosure in No. 190
Major Trotter to Mr. Malet.
Sir, DIARBEKIR, April i6, 1879.
I HAVE the honour to state that the condition of the vilayet continues tolerably tranquil, but I regret to have to report rather persistent attempts on the part of the Armenians and Jacobites in the Sert Sandjak to take advantage of the comparative quietness of the times to commence systematic persecution of the Protestants.
I have mentioned that Said Pasha, the Mutessarif of Sert, had dispatched a Commissioner to make inquiries into a recent very brutal case of persecution and expulsion of a Protestant family by the Jacobites of the village of A-udh. I have since received another telegram from the Pasha stating that the expelled family had been reinstated in its home, and that the ringleaders in the affair have been arrested and will be punished.
From Redwan, a sub-district of the Sert Sandjak, I have received a petition signed by the head-men of the Chaldaean, Jacobite, and Armenian communities, making charges against the Protestants that they parade the streets blaspheming and abusing the religions of the above mentioned. The petitioners further threatened that if these acts were continued I ought not to be surprised if I shortly heard news of assassinations and disturbances, as it was impossible for the Armenians to live if they continued to suffer such treatment. Shortly after receipt of the above I received a lengthy telegram couched in similar terms, and stating that since my arrival at Diarbekir the protestants had become intolerably overbearing in their behaviour, and that an end must be put to this state of affairs. A duplicate of this telegram was, I have since ascertained, simultaneously sent to the Vali Pasha.
I was not surprised, a day or two later on, to learn that these other Christian sects had been ill-treating the Protestants. It appears, by letters received from Redwan, that a Protestant was invited into the house of an Armenian, and on a religious discussion commencing, the Armenians tried to compel the Protestant to admit the doctrine of the real presence. On his declining to do so, they set upon him and beat him. Another Protestant passing by was invited inside, and he encountered the same treatment. The injured parties went to the Kaimakam to complain, and were told to bring written petition in the morning. In the meanwhile a counter-charge was brought against the two Protestants that they had forcibly entered the Armenian’s house and committed an assault. The Cadi who is said to have been bought over by the Armenians, decided against the Protestants, and sentenced them to several weeks’ imprisonment. The decision and the sentence were manifestly so unjust that a Mahommedan member of the Cadi’s Court left it rather than sign such an unjust decree. The Protestant pastor protested against the sentence, probably with some vigour, and he, too, was condemned to six weeks imprisonment, but the Kaimakam pronounced the latter sentence illegal, and ordered the pastor’s release.
I have had conversations on this affair with the Armenian Bishop of Diarbekir and with M. Boyagian, the Protestant pastor here; and the result has been that I have sent a letter to the MutessarifofSert, begging him to see thatjustice be done in the matter. I have but little doubt but that Said Pasha will take the matter energetically in hand. I have also written two other letters, one to the Protestant community at Redwan, exhorting them to refrain from offensive remarks and from thrusting their religious opinions down the throats of their adversaries; but I have at the same time told them that I had written to the Pasha to see that justice was done to them in the matter, and I trusted the result would be that the prisoners would be released. My other letter was to the signatories of the petition. I pointed out that as they had, amongst other accusations, stated one manifest falsehood, viz., that the Protestants went about crying out that Christ was a simple prophet, I might fairly presume that their other statements were equally unreliable, but I said that my object was to work for all Christians alike, and as a proof of my conciliatory disposition, I had refrained from handling their petition over to the Vali Pasha. Had I done so, they would certainly have been punished, as the document contained illegal threats, but as my object was to bring about peace and concord, I had contented myself with strongly recommending both them and the Protestants to keep the peace one with the other instead of letting their quarrels be a scandal to Christendom, especially in the present very critical state of affairs, when it behoves all Christians to be good friends.
The Armenian Bishop Philippos has also sent to the Armenians conciliatory advice, and Pastor Boyagian has done the same to the Protestants, so if good advice be of any avail in the matter the villagers have had plenty of it, and I hope that the matter will not develop into anything more serious.
From the Midyad Sandjak I have also had unfavourable reports about the condition of the Protestants, but my last advices state that affairs have taken a more promising turn. I have in former despatches narrated how the principal of the Turkish Aghas in the Midyad districts had systematically ill-treated the Protestants, and the only American missionary now at Mardin wrote to me on date 7 April, saying that “the men and some of the women of the Protestant communities had had to flee from the villages of Keferzi and Arnas. At the former place Agha, with a zaptieh, entered the houses and took from the women anything and everything they wished, while at Arnas has so intimidated the Protestants that three families have declared themselves non-Protestants, and the rest have been ordered to follow their example or prepare for war. One man started from Arnas for Keferzi, was overtaken by some of the tribe, beaten, wounded, and left for dead, having been robbed of his gun and knife, but he finally got away to his house. These Protestants are now in Midyad, not daring to return home.”
A letter of later date—10th April—gives a much more favourable account. The Protestant communities had telegraphed to the Vali Pasha in Diarbekir fir protection, and he at once telegraphed orders to the binbashi in command of the troops at Midyad to do what was needful. As a result of this officer’s intervention both the exiled communities have returned to their homes, and the famous — has been so far humbled that he has been to call on Ràji Effendi, the Protestant Vakil at Midyad, and has begged that the latter would overlook the past and come to an understanding for the future, promising that hereafter neither he nor any of his family would give any more trouble. As, however, his brother is said to have started on the folloving day with twenty armed men to attack another village called Batha, the Protestants are still in doubt as to his ultimate intentions.
It is worthy of remark that the cowardly attack on the Midyad mission house — previously fully reported on—occurred two hours after the departure of the Rev. Mr. Andrus, the resident missionary, on a visit to Diarbekir. The present outburst of fanaticism has occurred immediately subsequent to that same gentleman’s departure on a trip to Mosul.
In my despatch of the 14 March I informed your Excellency that the Mutessarif of Mardin had dispatched a certain Daniel Effendi to Midyad on special duty, to make inquiries about the Rev. Mr. Andrus has informed me that the Report prepared, but not yet officially submitted to the Governor, is a fairly impartial and correct one, so there is some prospect that this long pending case may at last be brought to a conclusion.
It is, perhaps, desirable that I should state that the ill-treatment of Protestants in the Sert Sandjak is, as far as I can judge, due to purely religious rancour, whereas in the Midyad district of the Mardin Sandjak the persecution is, as I have had occasion to explain in former despatches, based on political rather than on religious grounds. The authorities in both district appear to be fairly well disposed towards the Protestants.
I have, &c.
(Signed) HENRY TROTTER.
Turkey No 10 (1879), p 73-75, No. 35/1
