THE REPORT WHICH WAS SENT TO THE SADARET BY CİZRELİZADE RAİF EFENDİ REGARDING KURDISH-ARMENIAN INCIDENTS
Yunus PUSTU1
, Yusuf Turan GÜNAYDIN2
1Türk Tarih Kurumu, Bilimsel Çalışmalar Müdürlüğü; Doktora Öğrencisi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Ankara/TÜRKİYE
2Türk Tarih Kurumu, Kütüphane Müdürlüğü; Doktora Öğrencisi, Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Ankara/TÜRKİYE
Keywords: Kirkor Zohrab, Cizrelizade, reports, Turkish-Armenian relations (end of the 19th century), Vilayat-ı Sitte
Abstract
The Armenians, called as millet-i sadıka (the loyal nation), lived long years in peace under the Ottoman autonomy. However, after the last decades of the 19th century, certain attempts to found an Armenian state in vilayat-ı sitte (Erzurum, Van, Elazığ, Diyarbakır, Sivas and Bitlis) with Russian and British incentive took place. Accordingly, the Armenians started propaganda activities. Lawyer Kirkor (Krikor) Zohrap, member of the Meclis-i Mebusan (parliament) from Istanbul in 1908 elections, was one of the propagators. The claims that various oppressive and cruel actions were applied to the Armenians in Eastern provinces were carried to the parliament by him. Regar ding these claims, the state decided to send inspectors to the region to get information. In addition to that, some notables of the region also composed reports against the Armenian claims. Cizrelizade Raif Efendi, retired from governorship (Mülikye Kaymakamlığı), was among those. This study deals with the report of Cizrelizade Raif Efendi sent to the Sadaret against the Armenian claims.