Your Excellency!
The undersigned would like to apologise to Your Excellency for sending a new report following his report of 5 May, but the seriousness of the situation forces him to do so.
Although, after the discussion on 5 May, the level-headed and benevolent Governor General undertook very commendable steps to calm the population, the house searches and arrests which have taken place during the past few days have once again been of a more serious nature. Until now, 70-80 people have already been arrested in M. Aziz and the surrounding area, while the undersigned has no exact reports for the districts of the vilayet which are further away. But the situation in Egin and Arabkir is supposedly even more serious.
The Turks say, and probably fairly correctly, that some of the Armenians at the front have deserted to the Russians, that the Armenian people are against the Turks, that Armenian irregulars in the area around Van and in Persia were fighting against the Turks, that propaganda was made in Dersim by the Armenians under the Kizilbash that the latter join with the Russians, that bombs were found in Diyarbekir and dynamite in Egin and the Armenians in the interior would immediately go over to the enemy should there be a Russian invasion.
Based on all these thoughts, the government’s strict measures to completely disarm the Christians while leaving the Turks and the Kurds theirs despite the formal order to hand over all weapons can be understood.
On the other hand, the local Christians – without distinction as to nationality and denomination (among those arrested there are Armenians and Syrians, Armenian Gregorians, Roman Catholics and Protestants) – are in a very serious situation. As much as they regret any incidents in Van and grant the government the right and the duty to impose the strictest punishments upon political criminals, they do believe they could not be held responsible for the actions of the Christians in Van or of the few guilty people in this vilayet. Men, women and children are trembling at the thought of the beatings used occasionally during the interrogation of those arrested and the obvious conclusion for the Armenians is that the end of all these measures will be a general massacre, even more so since rumours are already flying about here of a heavy judgement passed against the population of Van. The mutual trust between Mohammedans and Christians has been breached almost completely.
Until now, no heavily incriminating evidence for the disloyalty of many Christians has been found in our town and the surrounding area. But it is possible that there are several guilty ones among those arrested. Whether the reports on the machinations of the Armenians among the Kurds in Dersim are true or exaggerated cannot be determined by the undersigned from here. But exaggerations are very possible, given the added strain on the nerves and the lack of mutual trust. Some of the information in the reports on finding dynamite in Egin may possibly also be discounted, as different persons recount the matter in somewhat different ways.
The government is taking particularly harsh measures against the members of the “Dashnag” and “Hintchag” organisations, which, however, have been a blessing neither for the Turkish state nor for the Armenian people. In view of the conditions in the interior, which are completely immature for a constitutional nation, it might have been better if the Turkish state had never acknowledged them, and their dissolution would be gladly welcomed by even a large part of the Armenian people. But after they have once been acknowledged by the state, membership in such a party may not be branded a crime unless it can be proved that the individual organisation or the individual person has leanings and activities which threaten the security of the state or are rebellious.
Possession of legally forbidden weapons acquired years ago, which is not uncommon among Mohammedans and Christians in the interior, should not yet be a sign of rebellious intentions, as the Turkish population still has a greater number of such weapons. According to relatively reliable statements by Christians, their weapons were solely for defence in case of an attack by the Mohammedan population. Despite all this, however, the acquisition of legally permitted or forbidden weapons arose in part from a great short-sightedness, yes, an almost unforgivable foolishness, because in doing so they provoked the Mohammedans and endangered the government’s trust in the Christians, all the more considering that both the government as well as the Mohammedan population tended to attribute other intentions to the Armenians’ acquisition of weapons. Incidentally, for the past 3 to 4 years the eagerness to purchase weapons has supposedly diminished greatly, if not ceased altogether.
Representatives of the various Christian denominations gave assurances 3 days ago to the Governor General of the loyalty and devotion of the Christians and requested that he extended the date for handing over weapons, which was kindly granted to them for a further 8 days.
The Governor General, of whose goodwill and sense of justice people are generally convinced, is presently not in a very easy situation, because strong anti-Armenian elements enjoy highlighting the Christians’ guilt all too glaringly and to all [appearances] they are in favour of the government’s most drastic measures. Recalling the Vali, and this possibility was discussed at great length about a week ago, would probably only aggravate the situation and would be highly regrettable considering his great competence and sincere friendliness towards the Germans, so that it can only be hoped very much that he remains.
The fact that despite all harsh measures by the government (digging up the floors of the houses and churches) there have been no crowds or riotous assemblies against the police or the Turkish population nor has any use been made of a weapon by Christians anywhere in the town or the surrounding area also shows that the exceptionally peaceful Christians of this area had not planned any machinations against the government since the outbreak of the war.
At any rate, the situation is very serious. The higher public officials, particularly the Governor General, give assurances that they plan to punish only the guilty persons and that there is no danger for the general Christian population.
However, as it cannot be foreseen how circumstances will continue to develop, I once again request of Your Excellency that you kindly take steps to inform the Turkish central government of the local conditions.
In reverence,