Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-02-07
ARMBNIA'S WAR.
Official Reports Of the Turkish
MaSSaCTNC.
ENGLAND'S BLUE BOOK.
The History of the Agitation lot
Several Years Told In GoVsr"
ment Docum ents-The Num-
Der Of Killed GreatIY
Exagg Grated

Blue books have been issued by the or.l5h
government containing ~ the .-i DIS
matches relative to Armenia bet eon July
Is 1894. and October lG. 1895. and fI3
of the consular delegates attached - mo .
Sassoun commission.
The report gives the history Of the Armen-
ian agitation for several years, and records
the obstacles thrown In the way Of the com
mission by the Turkish delegates. 1t also
acauits the Armenians Of the charge brought
against them of burning their own property
to incite an out reak among their people,
adding that the facts elected failed to prove
that the Armenians were in revolt, but show
that the a ;ita.or Murad instigated several
Armenian outrages on Kuris. The latter
then retali:tei and the Armenians fed TO
tho villages.
The conflicts between the Armcnians and
Kurds followed and the government dld
nothing to arrive at a peaceful settlement or
to protect women and children.
The delegates are compelled co believe, tho
report says. that all the Armenians who fell
into the hands Of the soldiers, the kurds or
the Zaptiehs. were either killed or wounded,
and that with tie exception Of the II yilIag-
ers Of Ta!ori not single prisoner was
taken.
The report shows that the number Of killed
has been grossly exaggerated, but the report
admits that owing to the a}sence Of regis
tration. il is impossible even approximately
10 fix the number Of victims. There is APP
pended. however to the report tabulatod
list Of all the evidence rendered to the COM
mission.
The six villages mentioned show total Of
2G5 victims. distributed as follows; Shen~'
ia. Semal 65: Ghelleguzan, the scene Of the
story of the great pit which was filed to
ovcrAowing with massacred victims 40; Agpi
22: Spagank 10: Talori ii. These villages
were all burned and the inhabitants were
scattered.
Ine British Delagate Shipley, in q memoir
andum attached to the joint report, from the
evidence gathered by Consul Hampson duF-
ing bis tour estimates the total number OF
victims in the Slssoun district, including
deaths from starvation, at about 900. One
of the worst cases Of c0ld-blooded cruelty,
Delegate Shipley says was the murder Of
prisoners in the camp at Ghelleguzan under
promise of a safe conduct. But the num-
ber Of those so murdered was only 10 or 80,
and not hundreds. as has been stated.
Delegate Shipiey, while he admits that
there was violation Of women. asserts that
the alleged wholesale butchery Of women
was not confirmed He points out that waiie
an agitation subyersiye Of the Ottoman au-
} thority hal existed among the Armenians In
Turkey and abroad and had exasperated the
Turkish Government, it must be admitted
, that the government had failed in its daty
Of allordny protection to all classes Of Its
subjects. He complains OF the connection
D and suppression OF evidence before the COM
= mission by Turkish officials as not calculated
to advance interests Of the truth.
Mr. Shipley, the British Delegate, further
declares that the Armenians were hunted
like wild beasts, and if the slaughter was not
greater i; vas solely owing 10 the yastneas oi
the mountain raDges. which facilitated tho
s escape Of the Armenians. lie was convinced
the Turks aimed at the complete extermina-
y ton Of the Armenians in the Ghelleguzan
and Talor districts.