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Date Posted: 01:03:52 04/22/05 Fri
Author: optimist
Author Host/IP: dsl85-100-15.ttnet.net.tr / 85.100.0.15
Subject: not turks but armenians did it
In reply to: Liartracker 's message, "Re: please read this" on 19:26:31 01/25/05 Tue

We used to live in the same neighborhood with the Armenians. We used to live in Norshin section with them, and we used to get along pretty well too. Until the Russians started to interfere. In those days, Armenian youngsters (tiga(s)) formed committees under the encouragement of Russians and they started to cause trouble. They murdered superintendent Nuri efendi and threw his dead body into the irrigation canal in the market place. They have murdered the post officer at Hashbagi and left the telephone on his chest. They have bombed a building that later was replaced by a public bath building. 20 people that have trapped under the ruins were killed and became martyrs. Constitution was built and mufti and monk shook hands to show alleged brotherhood between the Muslims and Christians. At that time, Van governor was Tahsin Bey. Mufti had to shake hands as he was crying. However, the future formed against us. Committee members became more and more disturbing. Rebellion started.

We made war with Armenians for 29 days in Hashbagi. We did not have guns. When the division went to Erzurum, we were totally unprotected. The Armenians taken in to the army after the constitution murdered us with our own weapons. Those that were in the army murdered our soldiers from the back with our guns. The elderly and young men who stayed at the Muslim neighborhood were patrolling streets until morning to secure. During that time they have bombed the barracks. The Russians sent cans of gold to support them. This war lasted 29 days. It lasted until the Russians came. The elderly Armenians were against the war and fight. Because Armenians were the most rich and wealthy of Van. In the old Van city, they had many shops selling European fabric: around 1000 shops. They were involved with trade and were wealthy. When the war started, the neighbor village and town people rushed to Van and these shops vanished within two days.

Afterwards, we have emigrated from Van with around 50 boats. Three of the ships were filled with wounded. Cevdet Pasha guided the people to the ships from the pier. We went to the island (Adir Island). Here, the Armenian tiga(s) were practicing under ground. We stayed for 9 days at the island. Some part of the ships with wooden sails was thorn apart by the waves. There were wells on the island. There were two bakeries. Nobody could take anything from Van when they left. We were starving and ruined. My elder brother was in army, and came wounded from Erzurum. There was a millitary captain with him. My brother was thinking that the Armenians were going to kill us all there, so he convinced the captain to leave the island.

We left the island with 10 boats. But we could not go too far because of the weather. We had to stay close to the shore since Ahlat. Under harsh conditions we could only get to Tatvan the next day. The day we left Armenians put everywhere on fire in Van. There were wounded soldiers coming from all battle fronts from over Turkey. Armenians put on fire the leased hospital buildings that Turk soldiers were being tended at, all the sick and wounded. That is why here (in Van) martyrs from 67 cities is resting under ground, and these lands have become sacred.

My uncle was a very old man. His name was Terren Aga. We could not take him with us when we were leaving Van. Himself, his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren (his daughters' husband was drown in the river and the father-in-law did not let her go). Armenian tiga(s) murdered my uncle and the children with axes by chopping into pieces. His daughter escaped to an American school (In Van, foreigners had embassies. When the conditions became too bad they had left). The daughter tried to hide there but Armenians found her and killed her by throwing her from the second floor. She became a martyr.

From Tatvan we went to Bitlis. We stayed there for approximately two months. When the Russians came we started to move again. We went to Hizan and then to Diyarbakir from Hizan. As we left there, the military police chief brought the news to my uncle Omer Bey who was the acting governor at the time. His name was Mansur Cavus. He was crying in tears. When he was asked for the reason he told the following. Three days after Van was evacuated, we went to collect the martyrs' bodies. They had impaled hundreds of elderly women. With their scarf on their heads, they were looked as if they were just sitting. When we got closer we noticed that they were murdered by making them sit on wooden sticks. At another place we saw a women with her child was bayoneted over her cut open chest. Muslim witnesses that saw thousands of unimaginable violence reported to Omer Bey in tears. And he reported these to Mustafa Kemal. Finally the Russians came. Even they felt upset to see the violence that wiped almost four out of five of Van.

Other than murdered by Armenians, a lot of people died during the emigration. Most of them died because of starvation and sickness. When leaving Van nobody could take anything with them. After three years when we returned back from the emigration, we found the Muslim neighborhoods in ruins. However, the Armenian neighborhoods were in perfect shape. When we returned there there were about 2000 Armenians living in Van. When Turks started to come back they ran away to the island. Two years later, the government sent them to (Ye)Revan.

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