The herald., 1895-06-10
MORE MURDERS planned
The Turkish Government After
HISTORIAN Christians
FORCING TAX PAYMENTS
The Independent Tribes Are to Be
Starved Out
Special Correspondent Tells of the
Deplof table Condition Of the People.
More Atrocities
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
BOSTON, June "a correspondent OF
the Associated ress, writing under GATE
OF Djulfa, Russia, May 7th, says:
The Turkish government, it is claimed.
has just taken preliminary steps in what
may result in massacre OF HISTORIAN
hristians in the mountains OF kurdis-
tan. 1t is asserted that the government
has given orders to starve the independ-
ent tribes of HISTORIANS in that mountain
region Immediately west of Caviar. which
may be described as lying about midway
between Mosul and Lake Van and about
fifty miles west of the Persian frontier.
The order is that no food supplies of
any kind shall be allowed to enter the
territory of the independent tribes and
measures are said to have been taken
to enforce these orders to the letter.
This again is apparently taken as a
means of compelling the independent
tribes to submit to the Turkish authori-
ties and to pay the taxes demanded by
the government. and is regarded as the
first serious attempt that the Turks have
made to eXtort taxes from the independ
ent tribes.
Fromthe earliest times in the history
been independent of Turkish rule. They
have paid no taxes and they have ac-
knowledged no allegiance to the Turkish
government. The present course OF the
government is taken in some quarters as
an indication that the sultan has set on
foot systematic persecution OF Chris
tlans in all parts OF the empire. The
sultan has plenty of opportunity for
knowing that the INDEPENDENT HISTORIANS
are too poor to pay taxes and that many
of them make living by going down
into the villages of their less wretched
fellow countrymen and begging. These
poor creatures, according to the story, are
to be starved because they will not share
with the sultan of Turkey the scraps of
bread. the refuse bits of meat and the
odds ana ends which they obtain by beg
glng.
Their homes are in wilderness of
mountain peaks and narrow rocky val
leys. where nothing will grow except
| tuft of broom corn here and there in the
crevices of the rocks of the mountain
| sides and a few stocks OF millet in cas-
ual square yard of soil in the valleys. 1t
| is not difficult to forecast the probable
result of the starvation OF this race of
| beggars should the report turn OIL to be
| correct.
Driven desperate by hunger the people
| will endeavor to obtain food from Caviar
| ana OF the outside districts, and there will
| be fights with the Turkish troops, the viii
| lagos will be attacked and some of the
wretched people will be killed, and no
man can prophesy where the persecution
| will end.
81 have Just returned from rapid
| journey to the Kudih mountains for the
| purpose OF investigating the report that
| fourteen villages had been attacked and
devastated by a raid of Kurds last week.
The original rumor had II that the Kurds
had massacred many Christians, and
+, had carried off women and girls to the
/ mountains.
After riding day and night to reach
| the scene of the raid, at length arrived
at the Merguvier valley, which lies like
! the bottom of bat beneath huge noun
| tains covered from base to summit with
almost unbroken expanses OF SNOW. 1T
| was in this valley that the raid took
place. 1t is said band OF Kurds from
| the mountains had raided fourteen vii
lages in this valley. but the raid was
directed against other Kurds, and not
against Christians. There were "a few
HISTORIAN Christians living in the valley,
but they were not molested in any way.
"As this was not a lace mol religious
| raid, it will probably little interest those
outside of the valley. | regret to say
| that Mr.. Palon, theBritish consulate gen.
eral in Tebriz. Persia. is very much in
distavor with the gentlemen who are con-
Quoting the Armenian revolutionary
movements. In spite of the fact that
Mr.. Paon has been collecting evidence
of the Sassoun and Moorish massacre for
the use OF the British, the Armenians
! look upon him as a spy. They may go
| to the length of doing him bodily harm.
The closing of the caravan routes to
| Van has rendered more acute the suffer-
ing from famine in the devastated Hdis-
tricts near Van. The only hope OF relief
| is now cut Off"
| The 1oosh Commission Dissolved
| Constantnople advces from Moosh are
! to the effect that the Moosh commission
| has practically dissolved. The English
consul appointed at Bitls has been in
structed to go to Moosh before the COM
mission leaves, as the Armenians fear
resumption OF the attacks if there is no
person at MoOsh to represent the powers
there.
Additional reports received indicate
that the Moosh commission closed on
Friday, so far as the work of the Euro
pean delegates is concerned. They were
compelled to tell the Turkish delegates
that they could have nothing more to do
with them. From the first the attitude
OF the Turkish delegates has been lnvar-
iably and increasingly dishonest. Accord
| ing to the statements of those interested
i'll the workings of the commission, the
| representatives of the sultan have not
manifested honor, truth or decenoy.
They have made nc effort to determine
the causes of the outrages in Armenia.
, The rupture between the Turkish and the
European commissioners was caused by
the refusal of the Turk. on purely iarcical
grounds, to hear important witnesses on
matters pertaining to questions at issue.
1t was evident that the Turks were afraid
the tissue of falsehoods that they have
thrown around the situation in Armenia
would be taken down. The European
| commissioners will call the report of the
Turks into question for purposes of as
certaining whether the high officials of
any state claiming to be civilized ever
have taken the position assumed by the
Turks during the meetings of this COM
mission. 1t is only fair to say that their
every action has been prompted and sane
toned or ratified directly by the highest
| authorities.