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Aram Andonian

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Aram Andonian was an Armenian journalist, historian, and author who worked for the Young Turk government during World War I. Andonian served in the department of military censorship and gained fame after the war for introducing what came to be known as the "Andonian Telegrams". These telegrams are purported to constitute evidence that the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1917 was state policy of the Ottoman Empire.

These telegrams were also used in the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian, who assassinated Talat Pasha, the alleged master mind of the Armenian Genocide, in 1921.

The Memoirs of Naim Bey

The telegrams were presented in the book The Memoirs of Naim Bey: Official Documents Relating to the Deportation and Massacres of Armenians, written by Andonian and published in 1920, originally in English, and later in a French version. These telegrams are purported to constitute evidence that the Armenian Genocide was formally implemented as state policy. Each note bears the signature of Mehmed Talat Pasha, the Ministry of the Interior and later Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. The contents of these telegrams "clearly states his intention to exterminate all Armenians, outlines the extermination plan, offers a guarantee of immunity for officials, calls for tighter censorship and draws special attention to the children in Armenian orphanages."[1]

These telegrams remain in coded form and are written in Ottoman Turkish. Translated versions of these telegrams can be seen here [1].

Soghomon Tehlirian trial

These telegrams were also used in the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian, who assassinated Talat Pasha in Berlin, Germany on March 14 1921. Although not introduced as evidence in court,[2] their mention help acquit Tehlirian,[3] as an Ottoman Military Tribunal had sentenced Talat to death in absentia shortly after the end of the First World War. Tehlirian was found "not guilty" on grounds of temporary insanity.

Authenticity

The authenticity of these telegrams is disputed by Turkish scholars and others, who have asserted that Andonian's telegrams are in fact forged, and have declared them to be wartime propaganda. This opinion is shared by Dutch professor Erik-Jan Zürcher.[4]

Armenian historian Vahakn Dadrian has, however, argued that the points brought forth by Turkish historians are erroneous and misleading and has countered the discrepancies they have raised.[5] Others who support Dadrian's thesis also point to the fact that the court did not question the authenticity of the telegrams when they were first introduced and that the British had also intercepted numerous telegrams which directly "incriminated exchanges between Talaat and other Turkish officials."[6]

Furthermore, the telegrams are facsimiles, not original copies. The French scholar, Yves Ternon who convened at the 1984 Permanent Peoples' Tribunal contends that these telegrams however, "were authenticated by experts...[but] they were sent back to Andonian in London and lost."[7]

References

  1. ^ Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal. A Crime of silence: the Armenian genocide. London: Zed Books, 1985
  2. ^ "Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian—First Afternoon". Armeniapedia. Retrieved 2007-02-04. VON GORDON — In view of the position taken by the District Attorney and the effect it has had on the jurors, I would like to cancel my motion to have these telegrams read into the record. PRESIDING JUSTICE — I believe that takes care of this point.
  3. ^ Albeit on grounds of temporary insanity due to the traumatic experience he had gone through during the Genocide. See Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: Perennial, 2004 pp. 344-345
  4. ^ Zürcher, Erik-Jan (September 23, 2004). Turkey: A Modern History (Revised Edition (Hardcover) ed.). I. B. Tauris. pp. 115–116. ISBN 1850433992. The Armenian side has tried to demonstrate this involvement, but some of the documents it has produced (the so-called Andonian papers) have been shown to be forgeries. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Dadrian, Vahakn. The Naim-Andonian Documents on the World War I Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians: The Anatomy of a Genocide. International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 18, No.4, November 1986 p. 550
  6. ^ Ferguson, Niall. The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West. New York: Penguin Press, 2006 p. 179 ISBN 1-5942-0100-5
  7. ^ Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal. ''A Crime of silence, 1985

Literature

  • Shirvanzade (biography of Alexander Shirvanzade), Constantinople 1911
  • Badkerazard endardzak batmutiun Balkanean baderazmin, 5 vols., Constantinople 1912 (History of the Balkan wars; a Turkish edition came out recently at Aras Yayincilik)
  • Ayn sev orerun (Reminiscences of the Armenian Genocide), Boston 1919
  • Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: Perennial, 2004
  • A Crime of silence: the Armenian Genocide by the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal. London [England] : Zed Books ; Totowa, New Jersey : US distributor, Biblio Distribution Center, c1985.
  • "The Naim-Andonian Documents on the World War I Destruction of Ottoman Armenians: The Anatomy of a Genocide". By Dr. Vahakn N. Dadrian. International Journal of Middle East Studies, Cambridge University Press. Vol. 18. August 1986. No.3. (50 pp.)
  • The Talat Pasha Telegrams (analysis by Şinasi Orel and Süreyya Yuca stating the telegrams are forgeries), Ankara 1983[2]
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