armenian question in tasvir

152 Pages·2007·0.82 MB·English

ARMENIAN QUESTION IN TASVIR-İ EFKAR
BETWEEN 1914 AND1918

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

SERKAN GÜL

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ART
IN
HISTORY

DECEMBER 2006
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Sencer AYATA
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Master of Arts.

Prof. Dr. Seçil Karal AKGÜN
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer TURAN
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Seçil Karal AKGÜN (METU, HIST)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer TURAN (METU, HIST)
Prof. Dr. Yavuz ERCAN (AÜ, HIST)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced
all material and results that are not original to this work.

Serkan GÜL
ii i
ABSTRACT

ARMENIAN QUESTION IN TASVIR-İ EFKAR
BETWEEN 1914 AND1918

GÜL, SERKAN
M.A., Department of History
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. ÖMER TURAN

DECEMBER 2006, 142 pages

In this study, some aspects of the Armenian Question between 1914 and 1918 have
been evaluated within the frame of historical methodology. For the first time, all the
issues of Tavir-i Efkar, a daily newspaper published during the studied period, have
been evaluated in the frame of the Armenian Question. All news and articles related
to the Armenians have been examined and a great deal of them has been used in the
study. By doing so, it is aimed to submit Tasvir-i Efkar as a historical source for the
studies on the Armenian Question.

Keywords: Armenian Question, Tasvir-i Efkar, World War

iv
ÖZ

TASVİR-İ EFKAR’DA ERMENİ MESELESİ
1914-1918

GÜL, SERKAN
Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. ÖMER TURAN

Aralık 2006, 142 sayfa

Bu çalışmada, tarih metodolojisi çerçevesi içinde, Ermeni Meselesi’nin 1914-1918
tarihleri arasındaki dönemi bazı yönleri ile ele alınmıştır. Bu dönemde Türkiye’de
yayınlanmakta olan günlük Tasvir-i Efkar gazetesinin bütün sayıları ilk defa olarak,
Ermeni Meselesi çerçevesinde ele alınmıştır. Böylece, Tasvir-i Efkar gazetesinin bir
tarih kaynağı olarak, Ermeni Meselesi ile ilgili çalışmalara katkı yapması
hedeflenmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Ermeni Meselesi, Tasvir-i Efkar, I. Dünya Savaşı

v
To My Parents

v i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Turan
for his guidance, advice, criticism, encouragements and insight throughout the
research. Without his unwavering support, I could not have completed this work.

I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Seçil Karal Akgün and Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ercan. They
took part in my thesis committee and made valuable suggestions and comments.

I would also like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Taha Niyazi Karaca. He continuously
supported and encouraged me throughout the work.

I would not have gotten through this process without support of my friends Taner
Beyoğlu, Kurtuluş Kılıç, Güngör Öğüt, Sadık Fatih Torun, Çağdaş Kılıç, Mustafa
Özbaş, Umut Alten, Aybüke Çiftdoğan, Eyüp Günaydın, Emre Altun, Ali Aksoy,
Erkan Özdoğan and Ali Delibaş. Their academic and morale support were precious.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. They have always supported me
throughout my education. They are always there whenever I need them.

Despite all valuable corrections, comments and suggestions of these names, there
may be some mistakes. All responsibility of mistakes is, of course, mine.

vi i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAGIARISM………………………………………………………………………iii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………...iv
ÖZ…………………………………………………………………………………...v
DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………...……...vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………..viii
ABREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………....x
CHAPTER…………………………………………………………………………
I. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………1
I.1. A Concise Historical Background of the Armenian Question……………....1
I.2. Tasvir-i Efkar ……………………………………………………………….8
I.3. Introduction to news on the Armenian Question in Tasvir-i Efkar...............16
II. THE ARMENIAN QUESTION ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I………...18
II.1. The Reform Project for the Armenians…………………………………...18
II.1.1. Resurrection of the Reform Project………………………………..18
II.1.2. Reform Project in Tasvir-i Efkar from 1 January 1914 to
World War I…..………………………………………………………..32
II.1.3. The Bitlis Uprising………………………………………………...43
II.2. Armenians in the 1914 Elections…………………………………...…….48
II.2.1. Armenians in the 1908 and 1912 Elections………………………..48
vi ii
II.2.2. Armenians in the 1914 Elections……………………………...…..53
III. THE ARMENIAN QUESTION DURING THE WORLD WAR I…………...69
III. 1. Activities of the Armenians at the Beginning of the World War……...69
III. 2. The Relocation Law and Its Application……………..………………..80
III. 3. Changes on the Regulation of the Armenian Catholicosate and
Patriarchate ……………………………………………………………88
III. 4. Armenian Activities after Relocation……………………………..…...95
IV. THE ARMENIAN QUESTION IN THE LAST PHASE OF
WORLD WAR I……......................................................................................102
IV.1. Political and Military Developments in Caucasia in Respect to
the Armenian Question ………………….…………………………….102
IV.1.1. Withdraw of Russia from the World War.……………………..102
IV. 1.2. The Brest Litovsk Treaty……………………………………...105
IV. 1.3. The Caucasian Federation……………………………………..107
IV. 1. 4. The Trabzon Conference …………………………………….108
IV. 1.5. The Batum Conference………………………………………..110
IV. 1. 6. The Istanbul Conference……………………………………...111
IV. 2. The American Intervention and the Wilson Principles………………...115
IV. 3. Discussion on the Armenian Question in Meclis-i Mebusan ………….119
IV.3.1.The Fifth Branch Commission (Meclis Beşinci Şube Komisyonu)……128
V. CONCLUSION…….…………………………………………………………...134
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….137

ix
ABREVIATIONS

BOA Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi
CUP Committee of Union and Progress (İttihat ve Terakki Partisi)
DH Dahiliye Nezareti (Ministry of Interior Affairs)
FUP Freedom and Union Party (Hürriyet ve İtilaf Partisi)
HR Hariciye Nezareti (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
HU Harb-i Umumi (World War)
KLS Klasör (file)
KR Karton (cardboard)
nr . Numara (number)
No. Number
OBE Osmanlı Belgelerinde Ermeniler
SYS (Siyasi)
TE Tasvir-i Efkar

x