The Washington herald., 1922-08-15
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'@Greeka Plan to Resist Turks In
Asia Minor" Say Representatives.

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A story of elaborate prepara-
tions by representatives of 1,000.00o
Inhabitants of Western Asia Minor
to resist the efforts of the allied
proposal that the Greek army
evacuate that territory and permit
the country to come under the rule
of Mustapha Kemal Pasha has been
brought to this country by Ste
pianos Beinoglou and Antonios
Athinogenis. sent here as oficial
delegates of the Christian Micr-
asiatic Defense. with headquarters
at Smyrna.
The decision of the allied min
listers places US in the dilemma of
remaining in our homes in Asia
Minor and being butchered by the
Turks or leaving our homes and
following the Greek army as
refugees" said Mr.. Beinoglou.
spokesman for the mission. in an
interview at the Hotel Commodore
yesterday.
I'VE will choose neither course.
We have decided that when the
Greek army evacuates Asia Minor
we will remain, protect our homes
and our families and die to the
last man rather than surrender to
the bloodthirsty Kemalists.
I'VE now have $4,000 men in the
Greek army. We are recruiting
our forces so that they may event.
ually reach 100000. We have or
ganized a gendarmerie of $4,000 as
a reserve force. On our way to this
country word reached us that a
more intensive mobilization of the
population had begun.
THE Greek military authorities
in Smyrna have mobilized Arme-
mans and Circassians who have VOL
unteered. We know that even II
the word is given to the Greek
army to evacuate the region, q
large part of the army will never
accept the order so long as the
Christians of Asia Minor will have
to fight to maintain their freedom.
Under the treaty Of Sevres, the
people of Asia Minor were freed
from Turkish rule. but subsequent
political conditions caused the al
lied foreign ministers at Paris to
decided to hand us back to the
tender mercies' of Mustapha Kemal.
Directly the decision became
known to US last March we began
our defense. You have probably
read in this countryTthAt the allies
have promised that the evacuated
territory would pass over to
Turkish suzerainty, and that guar
antees would be exacted from the
Turks to protect the Christians. We
in Asia Minor read this decision
differently. We interpret 1t as
death at the hands of the Turks
or deportation from our homes.
'If our just rights are to be
ignored, IL the sacrifices Of our
heroic struggles against ruthless
barbarians must go unheeded, and
II the fact that the Paris Peace
Conference acknowledged our sacred
right to freer life Is to be set
aside, what alternative have We but
to rise and die like men?
I'VE do not ask the civilized
world to go to Western Asia Minor
and to fight our battles. We will
do that. All we ask Is the right
to remain free. For we are free,
and European diplomacy would
take away our freedom.
when We issue our call for vol
unteers, Greeks in America. Egypt,
Constantinople and Europe will
lock to our banners to put down
the hand of the brutal Turk. Never
again will We return to the state of
slavery under which we were
tyrannized for nve centuries. We
are here to inform the American
people of what IL going on in
Western Asia Minor and to ask the
moral help Of the United States. its
people and It's government. In that
connection we will present memo
randum to the State Department.
The treaty Of Sevres practically
made. us a part of Greece. Since
that condition has been changed by
the decision of the allied minis
ters, we have decided to becQyne an
autonomous state. never again un-l
der Turkish rule. Many Turks. In
our territory, now able to compare
life under their own oflicials with
life under Greek rule, will hght
with us. We will be Joined in large
numbers by circassians who are
Moslemx.