Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-29
DEATH LIST EXAGGERATED
Report of the British Commission on the
Sassoun Massacres.
TOTAL NOT IN EXCESS OF NINE HUNDRED

Turkish Authorities Throw Every
Impcdiment i'm the Why of As
certaining the Facts in
the Cnsc.
LONDON, Jan. 2S.-Bue books have been
issued containing all the official dispatches
relative to Armenia between July "a, 1894,
and October 10, 1895, and the reports OF
the consular delgates attached to the Sassoun
commission. The report gives the history
of the Armenian agitation for several years
and records the obstacles thrown in the way
Of the commission by the Turkish delegates
1t also acuuits the Armenians of the charge
brought against them Of burning Their own
property to ncite an outbreak among their
people, adding that the facts ELECTED failed
to prove that the Armenians were In re-
volt, but show that the agtator, Murad,
instigated several Armenian outrages on
Kurds The latter then retaliated and the
Armenians fled to their villages The con-
nicts between the Armenians and kurds
followed and the government did nothing
to arrive at a peaceful settlement or TO pro-
tect women and children.
The delegates are compelled to believe, the
report says, that all the Armenans
who fell into the hands OF the
soldiers, the Kurds or the laptiehs
were either killed or wounded and
that with the exception of the eleven villagers
of Tallorin 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 absence OF
registration it Is impossible even approXi-
mately to fix the number of victims. There
-. however, appended to the report tabu-
H.. 0f oil hn pvilpnpp rendered tO
the commission The six villages mentioned
show total of 265 victims, distributed as
follows: Shenik, ia; Semal, 90; Ghellegu-
sam, the scene of the story OF the great pi'
which was filled to overflowing with mas
sacred victims, 40; Agp %; Spagank, 10;
Talorin, IA. These villages were all burned
and the inhabitants scattered.
The British delegate, Shipley, in a memo
randum attached. to the joint report from
the evidence gathered by Consul Hampson
during his tour, estimates the total num-
Der of victims in the Sassoun district, in
cluding deaths from starvation, at about
900. One of the worst cases OF cold-bloodeo
cruelty, Delegate Shipley says, was the MUIR
der of prisoners in the camp at Ghellegusam,
under q promise Of safe conduct. But the
number of those so murdered was only tofty
or fifty, and not hundreds, as has been
stated.
Delegate Shipley, while he admits that
there we're violations of women, asserts that
the alleged wholesale butchery OF women
was not confirmed He points out that while
an agitation subversve of the Ottoman au-
thority had existed among the Armenians
in Turkey and abroad and had exasperated
the Turkish government, 1t must be admitted
that the government had failed in its duty
of affording protection to all classes OF lts
subjects. He complains of the conceaine
and suppression Of evidence before the com
mission by Turkish officials as not calcu.
lated to advance the interests of the truth.
HUNTED LIKE WILD BEASTS.
Mr. Shipley, the British delegate, further
declares that the Armenians were hunted like
wild beasts and II the slaughter was moi
greater it was solely owing to the vast
ness Of the mountain ranges which facilitated
the escape of the Armenians. He was con
vnced that the Turks aimed at the com
plete determination of the Armenians IL
| the Ghelegusan and Talori districts.
The report of the consular delegate records
that the protest made by the delegates
against the intimidation Of witnesses and the
| suborning of evidence by government agents
| and their attempts to remedy this state OF
| things were always fruitless, so that the
elucldation of the truth was very difficult
Especially on the question of the violation OF
women did the commission display the great
| est repugnance at discovering the truth
| Only four female witnesses were heard. The
| commission refused to hear more. For a
| similar reason the details of the Ghellegusar
massacre are still wrapped in obscurity.
The memorandum of the British delegate
Mr.. Shipley, which has been quoted above
lis a most interesting document, and l!
couched in less severely official form thar
| the delegates report. Consul Hampson, VIII;
| made a tour Of the villages puts the numbei
of victims at twenty to sixty village. Mr.
| Shipley therefore thinks it fair to estimate
| forty dead for each Of the twenty-three vii
| lagos destroyed. He was unable to gathel
any evidence as to the truth of the ALLEGED
massacre at the convent of Surpmerapa, bu
he thinks that all such stories were great!
| exaggerated, II not absolutely invented. II
saws that the story of the torture Of thu
priest at Ghellegusam seems to have SOM
| foundation, but the alleged faying Of thu
| Armenian, Shero, by Colonel Tewfk, Is ex
| tremey doubtful.
without desiring to appear partial to thu
| Armenians, Mr.. Shipley emphasizes the fac
| that they were exposed to the rapacity o
government officials and to the exactions o
| the Kurds, who would have burned the
| houses and stolen their cattle unless the!
| had paid their demands. 1t is easy to under
! stand. Mr.. Shipley continues, that the Ar
menians should not pay taxes and satisf!
| the Kurds, and as the government did moth
ing to keep the Kurds in order, one canno
b. surprised that the Armenians were dis
| cortented.
| Consul Hampson also attaches a report q
| the inadequacy of and the obstacles to IN
distribution of relief. Among the official dis
patches is one from C. M. HalIward tn
| British vice consul at Van. written in No
| vember, 1894, which describes horrible but
cherry by the Kurds at Sassoun, where me
| were burned alive, Shellegusam priest wa
| tossed on bayonets, and sixty girls wer
driven to a church, and the soldiers the
ordered to dispose Of them as they liked. an
| then to massacre them. Mr.. Shipley doubt
| this story.
The editorials in the morning papers upo
| the Armenian blue book mostly commen
| on the fact that the reports only picture tn
overture to long tale of massacre an
| that the careful report of the delegate ha
| justified every denunciation yet published O
| the sultan.
<ENTUCKY's SENATORIAL BATTLE