Memorandum on the Claims of the Kurd People - 1919

8/17/2019 Memorandum on the Claims of the Kurd People - 1919

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Hemorandu

on

t

h

Claims

o t

h

Kurd

People



ortbe

of

TCUsconain

PRESENTED

BY

W.

L.

WESTCRMANN



\m

Memorandum

on

t

h

Claims

o

t

h

Kurd

People

IMPRIMERIE

A.-G.

L HOIR

^6,

rue du

Delta,

26

PARIS

1919





A*

Memorandum

On

the

Claims

of the

Kurd

People

Now

that the

excessively

imperialistic

claims

of

Armenia

are

officially

known,

1

may

venture to

define more

accura

tely

before the Peace

Conference

the

legitimate

claims of

the

Kurd

Nation.

The frontiers of Turkish

Kurdistan,

from

an

ethnogra

phical point

of

view,

begin

:

in

the North

at

Ziven,

on

the

Caucasian

frontier and

continue westwards to Erzeroum

Erzindjian,

Kemah,

Arabkir,

Behismi,and

Divick

;

in

the

South

they

follow

the line Haran, the

Sindjihar Hills,

Tel Asfar,

Erbil,

Kerkuk,

Suleimanie, Akk-el-man,

Sinna;

in

the East

Ravandiz, Bash-Kale,

Vizir-Kale,

that is to

say

the frontier of

Persia

as far

as

Mount

Ararat.

From

the

remotest

periods

of

history

these

tracts

have

been

occupied

by

the

Kurds

under

various

names,

and

for

the

last thirteen hundred

years

under

that of

Kurds.

Up

to

the

time

of

its

voluntary

submission to the

Sultan

Selim

the

First,

Kurdistan

was

composed

of

forty-six

inde-

pendant principalities

:

Diarbekir, Dinver,

Charry

Soul, Ler,

Ardial

Hakkri,

Emadia,

Kurkel, Finck,

Hassan,

Kef,

Tche-

mush,

Guerzek,

Mirdasi,

Ekil,

Sassour,

-Hezan,

Kilis,

She-

rouan,

Derzini,

Erdikan

Hak,

Terquel,

Sueydi,

Suleimanie,



-

4

-

Sahran

Terkour-Kalai,

Daoud.

Pelinkan,

Bitlis,

Garzan,

Bouhtan,

etc.,

were

under

the

sway

of

these

independent

Kurd

principalities.

Mommsen,

in

his

History

of Rome

places

Armenia

between

the sources of the

Euphrates

and

of the

Tiger

and

that

of

the Kur.

Nuttall s

English

Encyclopedia

is even

more

explicit,

as

the

following

extract,

taken

textually

from

i

t

will

show

:

«

Armenia,

A

country

in

the West of

Asia,

to

the West

of

the

Caspian

Sea,

to

the

north of the mountains of

Kurdistan,

divided

between

Turkey,

Russia

and Persia,

occupying

a

plain furrowed by the fertile valleys

which

culminate

in

Mount

Ararat

».

This would

seem to indicate

clearly enough

to the

Armenians to what

spoiler

of

their

territories

they

should address themselves instead

of

displaying

an

unwarran

table

covetousness

towards

countries

essentially

Kurd.

With

regard

to that

part

of

Kurdistan

which

i

s

included

in the

vilayet

of

Erzerum,

we

may appeal

to the

authority

of

the

great geographer

Elisha

Reclus,

who has

established

i

n

his

great

work

the

general

outlines of the

regions

which,

in

his

opinion,

form

a

Kurdistan

justified by its territories

and

by

a

Kurdish

majority.

We

feel

i

t

our

duty

to draw

the

attention of

those,

who

have

generously

accepted

the

task

of

remapping

the

globe

on the

basis of

nationality,

to the

words

of this

great

geographer.

«

In

those

valleys

where

they

are

grouped

into

compact

.

tribes,

notably

in

the

basin

of

the Great

Zab,

they

form

a

nationality sufficiently

powerful

to

hold

its

own,

as

a

sepa

rate

state,

against

the

Turks

and

Persians.

»

This

was written

in

i884.

Other authorities

may,

of

course,

come forward at

the

conference itself.

Nevertheless,

I would ask

your permission

to

point

out

emphatically,

that i

f

those districts where the





—

6

—

and

the

European

Powers

can be

quoted.

After the

treaty

of

Berlin a

commission

composed

of

the late British

General

Baker

Pasha the late

Said Pasha, president

of

the Ottoman

Council

of State,

as well as Minas Effendi an Armenian

notable,

was sent to

Kurdistan,

in

order to

conduct

a

census

of

the

population.

We will

give,

as

a

single

example,

the

census carried

out

in

the

province

of

Diarbekir,

which showed

a

result

of

84o.ooo

inhabitants,

of

whom

6oo.ooo were

Musulmans,

and

24o.ooo

Christians or

Jews.

In

i895

Prince

Lobanoff,

Russian

Minister for

Foreign

Affairs, the

last

person one could

accuse

of

being

Kurdo-

phile,

officially

affirmed

the

minority

of

the Armenians

in

the

whole Ottoman

Empire.

In the

course

of

a

debate

in the French

Chamber

of

Deputies,

on Nov.

3

rd

i896

reported

in the

Journal

Officiel

of

the

4

th

Nov.

i896,

pages

i557-i358)

on the Armenian

question,

which

was to the fore at that

time,

the

Minister

for

Foreign

Affairs

made

the

following

declaration

: « In the

Turkish

Provinces,

which alone are under consideration

at

the present time, the Armenian population, according to

the

statistics which

we

have in our

hands,

certainly

does not

exceed

i3

o/o

of

the inhabitants.

Further,

their

distribution

in

the

Asiatic

vilayets

is

irregular, being

at times

comparati

vely

dense,

at

others,

thinly

scattered.

In a

word

one fails to

discern

a

single

spot

where

this

unhappy population

are

really

in

a

majority,

or

where

they

can

form

a

centre

round

which

a

certain

autonomy

might operate.

»

Finally,

in

order to further demonstrate

the

soundness

of

the

Kurd

claims, we

take the

following

extracts from

a

handbook drawn

up

by

the

Russian Staff

and

distributed

confidentially

to

a

few

personalities

only,

whose

discretion

was

above

suspicion,

and

written

in

the

sole interests of

the



Russian

army

and

politics.

On]

this

account,

precisely,

this

nandbook

has

a

neutral

character

as

far

as

the

Kurds

and

Armenians are

concerned,

its

object

being

to furnish

strictly

secret

information.

In

speaking

of

Van

and

Bitlis,

the

two

areas

«

eminently

Armenian

»

according

to the

pretensions

of

the

Armenians,

the author

say

textually

:

«

In these

two

vilayets

of

Turkey

in

Asia,

the

Kurds

are more

numerous

than the Armenians.

At

Van there

are

46

o/o

of

Kurds

against

26

o/o

of

Armenians,

at Bitlis

55

o/o

of

Kurds

against

39

of

Armenians.

In these

two

vilayets

the

Turks,

who are

are of the

same

religion

as the

Kurds,

are not counted. In

the

district

of

Van

and

Mouche,

only,

are

the

Kurds

and

Armenians

nearly

equal

from the

standpoint

of

population.

In

the

district

of

Bitlis there

are

5o

o/o

of

Kurds

and

4o

o/o

Armenians. As for

the other

districts,

the

Kurds are

many

times more numerous than

the

Armenians.

In

short,

in

no

matter

what

district,

the

Armenians

fail

to attain the

half

of the

population.

The

Kurds

form

at

Hakari

56

o/o,

at

Sihirt 6o

o/o,

at Gentch

79

o/o

of the

population.

In

the

latter

districts

the

Kurd

majority

is so

manifest

that

the

Armenians who live there

can

speak

no other

language

but

Kurd.

Even

in

the

vilayets

of

Van

and

Bitlis

there are

regions

where the Armenian

tongue

is

known

only

to

the

clergy.

As for the distribution of

religions

in

these two

vilayets

the

results

are

as follows

:

In the

districts

of

Van there

are

54

o/o

of

Musulmans,

43

o/o

of Christians

and

3o

o/o

of ther

reli

gions.

In

the

district

of

Hakari,

there

are

56

o/o

of

Musul

mans,

43

o/o

of

Christians,

and i

o/

of

other

religions.

In the

vilayet

of

Bitlis,

in

the

district

of

Bitlis,

the

are

6o

o/o

of

Musulmans and

4o

o/o

of

Christians.

At

Mouche there are

5i

o/o

Musulmans,

48

o/o

Christians

and

i

o/o

of other

religions.

Sihirt

counts

65

o/o

Musulmans

34

o/o

of

Christians

and i

o/o

of other

religions.







10

At

Ghench

there are

69

o/o

of

Musulmans,

2o

o/o

of

Christians

and one

o/o

of

other

religions.

To

conclude, out

of

32

cazas

which

compose the vilayets

of Van and

Bitlis,

there are

only

eight

where

the

majority

of

the

people belong

to the

Christian

faith. In the

others,

the

majority

is formed

by

Musulmans

»

i).

All

these official

statements,

made at

a

time

when

tragic

events

had

roused the

sympathy

of

the

whole of

Europe

in

favour

of

the

Armenians,

prove eloquently

enough

that

the

latter

have never

possessed

the

slightest

majority

in

any

part

of

the

Ottoman

Empire;

and

for

the

same reason,

clearly,

they cannot

have

possessed

a

majority

in

Kurdistan

either,

since

it

formed an

integral

part

of the Ottoman

Empire

at

that time.

Further,

as

a

final

proof

of

the

manifest

majority

of the

Kurds in

these districts

I

must

add that alone

in

these

two

vilayets

the so-called Hamidies or

regiments

of

cavalry

still

exist,

formed

by

the

following

tribes : Haidaranli

chief,

Mehmed Sadik

bey),

Shavli

Djafer

bey),

Adamanli

Ali

bey),

Mocouri

Ibrahim

bey),

Milan

Mehmed

s

bey),

Shemsiki

Sadik

bey),

Shekian Sheref

bey),

Adomanli

Suleiman

bey),

Hasnanly

Fetoullah

bey),

Djebranli

Ibrahim

bey),

Takouri

Hussein

bey),

Ertoche

Hassan

bey),

Adamanli

Oushan

bey),

Penian

Loutfoullah

bey),

Sheidanli

Eumer

bey,

Allashe and

Haidaranli

Hadji

Demir

pasha).

The tribe

of

Haidaranli

which

forms six

regiments

of

cavalry,

occupies

a district

lying

between the

east

shore

of

lake

Van and the

western

part

of the Aladar

Mountains.

There is

yet

another tribe called

Haidaranli,

the

so-called

Ahaza Haidaranli,

which

inhabits Doudak, Malazgert

and

1Statistics

o

Van

and

Bitlis translated from

the

Russia

b

Mehemed

Sadik

bey,

Cavalry

Commander,

attached to

the

Staff Information

Department

of the General

Staff.

Military

Press,

Constantinople

i330

1914).



Herdishe;

the

second

in

order

of

magnitude

is the

Hasnanli

tribe,

which

lies

in the

direction

of

Malazge:

t

Boulanikh

and

Hins.

and

forms five regiments,

of

which

three

dwell

in

the

vilayet

of

Bitlis;

the third in

the same order is the

Hidman-

lilar

tribe,

in

the

walley

of the Zeilan river.

The

tribe

of

Djebranli

forms

two

regiments

and lives in the caza

of

Vartou.

The

other

tribes

are

comparatively

less

numerous,

forming

only

one

regiment

each. The

Shanli tribe

inhabits

the eastern

shore

of

lake

Van,

that of Takouri the town

of

Serai

and

the caza of Mahmoudie on the

Persian

frontier.

The Milanli

tribe lives also on

the same frontier,

slightly

further to

the

west.

The

Mocouri tribe is also

in

the

same

region.

The

Shemsighi trib

is

found

in the caza

of

Mahmou

die and Hamidie. While that of Shekiah inhabits the

caza

Alpak,

situated

on the

upper

reaches of

the Zab

river;

that

of

Sheidanli,

the

caza

of

Hamidie

and Nourchen,

that

of

Aladje, Malasgerte

and

Erdjiche.

Besides these

principal

tribes

there are still others

of

secondary importance

which

also form

regiments

in

these

districts.

All these

tribes,

in

spite

of

the

exceptionnally

tolerant

regime to

which

they

are

subjected,

have

never permitted

their

chiefs

to make

the

slightest

concession

to

the

govern

ments

with

regard

to their

independence,

so

inflexibly

jealous

does

their somewhat fierce nature become

when

their natio

nal

traditions

and

their

independence

is at stake.

Even

with

the

help

of

a

European power,

it

would be

ra

ther vain on the

part

of

the

Armenian

minority

to

hope

to

dominate this warlike and

numerically

superior

element.

When the

missionaries

in

obedience to

their

religion

entered

Kurdistan

for the first time

they

began

by

trying

to

convert

the

Kurds,

but

very

soon,

convinced

of

the fruitless-

ness of

their

efforts,

they

directed their attention

to

the

instruction

of the

Christian sects

in Kurdistan.

Among

these the orthodox Armenians were easiest to



convert

and

soon the

missionary

schools were filled with

Armenian

pupils.

In the

hope

of

rousing

them to a

higher

consciouness the

missionaries

spoke

to

them

of

the

history

of

Tigran, dwelling

on his conquests

and

his ancient

king

dom. Asa

result of

this

education,

saturated

with

patriotic

sentiments,

the

first

ideas

of

independence

were

awakened

in

the

Armenians,

without

anyone

being

able

to

foresee,

of

course,

the

importance

of this

movement and the conse

quences

to

which it

might

lead.

With

regard

to this

question

of the

missionaries,

1

will

have

recourse once

again

to the Russian

Staff handbook

which I

have

already

mentioned,

and

of which the

following

extracts

are

taken :

«

In the

vilayets

of

Van,

catholic and

protestant

missio

naries have been

established

for the

last

thirty

years

in

the more

important

centres

and in the

towns of

Van and

Bitlis.

Among

them

predominate

the

Americans,

who

have

conducted

religious

propaganda

and

succoured the

poor,

irrespective

of their race or

religion.

Their schools are the

best

organised.

In those of the missionaries

in

Van

and

Bitlis,

there are

departments

where the different industries

and

trade

are

taught.

And

it

is

curious to notice that

the

American schools, frequented

by

Armenian students

are

those to

produce

the

hottest

revolutionnaries and

the cleve

rest

propagandists

in

the world.

Altough

the Americans

have been

prodigal

of

generosities

of

all kinds

towards

the

Armenians,

the

latter

do not

like them.

Impelled

by

his commercial

and

grasping

nature

to

exact

always

more than his

due,

the Armenia

now

demands

much

more than he

is

entitled to.

The

ancient

kingdom

of

Armenia

now seems

too small for

him,

and

clinging

to the

memory

of

the short-lived

conquest

of

his famous

Tigran,

he

desires

to take

possession of

that

vast

portion

of

Kurdistan

which

was

annexed to Asia Minor.

Under

the

pressure

of the

repeated

European

interven-



lions which

were

provoked

by

the

Hamidian

regime,

the

Ottoman

government

had

judged

advisable

to

permit

discon

tented

Armenians

to

leave the

country

and

abandon

Arme

nian

nationality.

Thereupon

thousands of Armenians

emigrated

towards

the

territories

of

there ancient

kingdom,

which

at the time

of

the

congress

of

Berlin

had

been

allotted to

the

Empire

of

the Tzars.

As

it

happened

the

majority

of

the

emigrants

sold their land

to

Kurds,

some of them

even

abandoning

them

without

more ado.

According

to the Ottoman

law,

those lands

which

are left

uncultivated

by

their

proprietors

during

a

period

of

three

years,

are liable

to

seizure

and

sale

by

the

government,

and

thus

it

is

that

those which the

Armenians

had abandoned

were

sold to the

Kurds.

After the

proclamation

of the

Constitution

the Armenian

refugees

in

Russia,

finding

the

rule

of the

Tzars even more

severe than that of

Turkey, profited

by

the

general amnesty

to

quickly

regain

their native

country,

demanding

from

the

government

the restitution

of

their

lands,

to the

prejudice

of

the

new Kurdish

proprietors.

Owing

to the

exaggerated

representations

of

European

diplomacy, the government was again obliged to give way,

but the

Kurds,

indignant

at

such

flagrant

iniquity,

brought

all

their forces to bear in

opposition

to this

procedure.

Special

European

Commissioners were

nominated

for

Asia

Minor,

and

Kurdistan,

with the

mission to

settle

this

dispute,

when the

world-war

broke-out.

All

this

goes

to

prove clearly

that

the

majority

of

the

Armenians resident

in

Kurdistan had

left

this

country

of

their own

accord,

and therefore

that,

juridically,

they

have

no

right

to claim these territories.

If

a

strong majority

has

found

itself

powerless

to

govern

a

minority

to

its

satisfaction,

can it be

hoped

that

the

Arme

nian

minority

will

be able to

assume the

direction

and

admi



-

14

-

nistration

of

a

race

superior

to

itself

in

numbers,

and

so

jealous

of

its

independence

as

is the

Kurd race

?

In

any

case

a mixed

European

commission will

have

to

examine the

question

of

the

purchase

of

landed

estate

proved

to

belong

to Armenians

resident

in

Kurdish

territories

who

are

desirous

of

emigrating

into

Armenia,

on

condition,

always,

that the consent of

the

Kurds

be obtained

to

whatever

agreements

are made, and the same

facilities

offered to

them

by

the

commission.

In virtue

of

the

Wilsonian

principale everything

pleads

in favour

of the

Kurds

for the creation of

a

Kurd

state,

entirely

free and

independent.

Since the Ottoman Government

has accepted

Mr Wilson s

fourteen

points

without

reservation,

the

Kurds believe that

they

have

every

right

to

demand their

independence,

and

that

without

in

any

way failing

in

loyalty

towards

the

Empire

under

whose

sovreignty they

have lived

for

many

centuries,

keeping

intact their

customs

and

traditions.

Thus,

to

resume

the

Kurd claims which follow from

the

forego

ing-considerations

:

We

protest

energetically against

the

pretensions

of

the

Americans

with

regard

to

Kurdistan,

which,

as

defined

by

the frontiers

which

we

shall indicate

in a

map,

later

on,

should remain to the

Kurds.

The

national

wealth

of

the

Kurds

being

almost

entirely

derived from

cattle-raising

which

requires,

on

account

of

the

climate,

Winter

and

Summer

pastures,

we

urgently

reguest

that these

pastures

shall not remain outside

the

frontiers

assigned

to Kurdistan.

Finally

we

demand,

that

independence

which is our

birthright,

and

which

alone

will

permit

us to

fight

our

way

along

the

road

of

progress and civilization, to turn to account

the resources of our

country

and to live in

peace

with

our

neighbours.

Furthermore

we

beg

the Peace

Conference

to

name an



—

i5

—

international

commission,

charged

with

tracing

the frontier

line

in

accordance

with

the

principe

of

nationality

so as to

include

in

Kurdistan

all those territories

where

the

Kurds

are in

a

majority;

on the

clear

understanding,

that if

in

the

districts alloted to

Kurdistan,

sufficiently

large agglomera

tions of other national . ies be

found,

provision

shall

be

made

for

them in a

special

statute

in

conformity

with

their natio

nal

traditions.

Full of

hope

in

the

justice

of

the

Congress,

we entrust

it

with

the life

and

future

of

a

very

ancient

race,

which is

determined

to

renew its

youth,

if

only

it be accorded

the

necessary

latitude.

General SHER.1F

PASHA,

President

of the

Kurd

Delegation

to the

Peace

Conference.

Paris,

March 22nd

i9i9.

2o,

avenue de

Messine



B89089959548A





b89089959548a

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Memorandum on the Claims of the Kurd People - 1919

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