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Wilsonian Armenia

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Wilsonian Armenia as promised during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of Sèvres.

Wilsonian Armenia, is a term used for the borders drawn by Woodrow Wilson at the Treaty of Sèvres,[1] which is a peace treaty that the Allies of World War I, excluding the United States, and the Ottoman Empire signed on 10 August 1920 after World War I, though it was not ratified. It incorporated Erzurum, Bitlis, and Van Provinces, which were parts of the region referred to as Ottoman Armenia (also referred to as Western Armenia). This region was extended to the north, up to west side of Trabzon Province to provide the Democratic Republic of Armenia an outlet to the Black Sea with the port of Trabzon.

The Turkish War of Independence forced the former wartime Allies to return to the negotiating table prior to ratification of the Treaty of Sèvres. The parties signed and ratified the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which annulled the Sèvres Treaty, and also established the current borders of Turkey. The eastern borders were already established before the Treaty of Lausanne, first through the Treaty of Alexandropol on November 2 1920, and then the Treaty of Kars on October 23, 1921 which was ratified in Yerevan on September 11, 1922.[2] The Treaty of Lausanne confirmed them. Treaty of Lausanne and all its previous history is not recognized by current Republic of Armenia.[citation needed]

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, elected twice. The major campaign slogan for his second election that he won narrowly was "he kept us out of war". Wilson's second term focused almost exclusively on World War I, which for the US formally began on April 6, 1917, only a little over a month after his second term began.

Negotiations

See also: Conference of London and Paris Peace Conference, 1919

During the Conference of London, David Lloyd George encouraged Wilson to accept a mandate for Anatolia, and particularly with the support of Armenian diaspora for the provinces claimed by Administration for Western Armenia. Wilson sent King-Crane Commission and General James Harbord to the region to understand what is behind the claims of Armenian national movement, and if these claims fit to Wilson's Fourteen Points. The 12th point was as following:

"The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees."

King-Crane Commission tackled the issue of whether there should be an Armenian state, also if that should be under US mandate. King-Crane Commission came to the conclusion that there should be one. While one explanation, for the conclusion, might be mere favoritism, the arguments used for an Armenian state are quite similar to later arguments for the existence of Israel after World War II.[citation needed] James Harbord held the position that he would not recommend a division between these lands, which might bring other problems like inter communal wars. Harbord's report stated that "the temptation to reprisals for past wrongs" would make it extremely difficult to maintain peace in the region.

The King-Crane Commission noted that the Armenians had suffered a traumatic experience, that they couldn't trust the Ottoman Empire to respect their rights anymore, and that they were "a people." Therefore, Armenian independence which was established under very hard conditions during the Caucasus Campaign should be respected by international community and insured by the Allies.

Armenian arguments

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), using their position of leaders of Armenian national movement, defended that this region should not be part of the Ottoman Empire. They claimed Armenians have the capability to build a nation. Armenians had the de facto control of a region around Van Province of Ottoman Empire for nearly 3 years (1915-1918). ARF stated that it was natural to annex this region to the newly established Democratic Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), the first modern establishment of an Armenian republic, that was created after the collapse of the Russian Tsarist empire.

Another argument developed during this period was that the population was becoming increasingly more Armenian, Armenians were not a minority but a plurality, and moving the displaced Armenians to this area should be considered as an option. In 1917, some 150,000 Armenians relocated to the provinces of Erzurum, Bitlis, Muş, and Van.[3] The Armenians already began building their houses and creating their farmlands. In 1917, the provincial governor Aram Manougian ("Aram Pasha") stated that a new autonomous state in the region sould be founded, under Russia or the Ottoman Empire. Armen Garo ("Karekin Pastirmaciyan") and other spokesmen proposed to have Armenian soldiers in Europe transfer to the Caucasus front for the protection and stability of the new establishment. Armenian soldiers began to create a strongmen between the Ottoman Army and Armenian front. All these activities were proof that there is a national structure and it should be taken into consideration. The Armenian people have a right to have a self-governed nation in the region.

Wilson's conclusion

See also: Treaty of Sèvres

Woodrow Wilson agreed to transfer what will be named as "Wilsonian Armenia" to the Armenians in the Treaty of Sèvres. President Wilson’s acceptance letter (for drawing the frontier), to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 said: "The world expects of [the Armenians] that they give every encouragement and help within their power to those Turkish refugees who may desire to return to their former homes in the districts of Trebizond, Erzerum, Van, and Bitlis, remembering that these peoples, too, have suffered greatly."[4] Today, as a continuation of the initial goal, the creation of a free, independent, and united Armenia consisting of all territories designated as Wilsonian Armenia by the Treaty of Sèvres as well as the regions of Artsakh, Javakhk, and Nakhichevan, is the first goal of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Aftermath

As the coming months had shown, King-Crane Commission had not adequately analysed the situation. Some sources even claim they did not even spend enough time. The realities of the ground were different, and they were not included in the report. Treaty of Alexandropol and then the Treaty of Kars were the first blockage to this idea and than within the following months Treaty of Sèvres put to shelf as it was superseded by Treaty of Lausanne. The Armenian national fight for "Western Armenia" being somewhat part of the newly established Turkish republic dropped from the table. Only to be resurrected by the Terrorist Organization ASALA as its aim, along with recognition of the infamous Massacre made by the Turks against the Armenians.

References

  1. ^ Dadrian Vahakn N. The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus - Page 356
  2. ^ Text of the Treaty of Kars
  3. ^ Hovannisian Richard G. The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Vol. II: Foreign Domination to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century. New York: St Martin's Press, and London: Macmillan, 1997
  4. ^ President Wilson’s Acceptance letter for drawing the frontier given to the Paris Peace Conference, Washington, November 22, 1920.

See also

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