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districts inhabited by Armenians. When the Young Turks finally de-
cided to carry through the genocide, compliant or enthusiastic officials
were in place, and procedures prepared. They telegraphed the order to
 Take care of the Armenians.
It began with those Armenians conscripted into the army. Arme-
nian soldiers were transferred to labor battalions, then worked to
death, or killed by exposure, hunger, and disease; some were simply
divided into groups, tied together, marched off to some secluded spot,
and shot. Sometimes, Kurdish tribes were promised loot if they at-
tacked the bound Armenian soldiers as the Turks force-marched them
along isolated roads. In this way, the Turks murdered 200,000 or more
Armenian men.
Exterminating Armenians in the army still left many civilian males
who could fight and might have the weapons to do so. Moreover, the Ar-
menian leadership still could organize a rebellion. So the Young Turks
designed three additional stages in preparation for the final mass genocide.
First, under the guise of wartime necessity, and to protect against
possible sabotage and rebellion by Armenians, the government de-
manded that Armenians in all towns and villages turn in their arms or
face severe penalties. Turk soldiers and police ransacked Armenian
homes, and many suspected of having weapons were shot or horribly
tortured. This created such terror that Armenians bought weapons or
begged them from Turkish friends so they could turn them in to au-
thorities. These terroristic searches also softened up the Armenians in
preparation for a series of civilian massacres that led to the final stage.
Next, during March, Turks arrested and jailed 235 of the most re-
spected Armenian leaders in Istanbul politicians, doctors, lawyers,
educators, churchmen, writers and relocated them to the interior,
never to return. In the days that followed, the Turks picked up hundreds
more who similarly disappeared, and eventually they forced about
5,000 Armenian laborers, doorkeepers, messengers, and the like into
the same fate.
Genocide Never Again 93
At the same time, the Turks could deal with the remaining
able-bodied Armenian men and launch the ultimate genocide. They did
this as a one-two punch, moving westward and southward from villages
and towns closest to the eastern border with Russia.
The technique was generally the same from village to village and
town to town, although in some places the police grew impatient and
simply slaughtered any Armenian males they came across on the
streets. First a bulletin would be posted, or a town crier would call for
all Armenian males over age fifteen to appear by a certain time in the
town square, or in front of the central government building. Once they
had gathered, the authorities then imprisoned them all. After a day or
so, soldiers and police roped the prisoners together in batches, marched
them out to a secluded spot, and slaughtered them.
With a few more days delay for preparation, the authorities then
put the ultimate extermination into effect.
Peter put his pencil down. He was so tired. He yawned, stretched his
arms, then rose and staggered into the bedroom. He now realized that he
should have had a good sleep and taken several days to regain his energy
after the hectic research in Turkey, the seasickness and dysentery, the
crowded boat-train to London, and that Hansom cab, and traffic . . . .
Chapter 23
Peter
eter napped fitfully for an hour and was finally fully awakened
when the late afternoon sun shone on his face through his west
P apartment window. He got up, closed the dusty drapes, and
slouched into his small kitchen to make himself tea.
While the kettle was heating up, he stood by his desk, glancing
through his notes and leafing through some of his supporting docu-
ments. He forgot about the time until the kettle started screaming at
him. He rushed into the kitchen and poured the boiling water onto the
orange pekoe tea leaves in his teapot, then went back to his notes while
the tea steeped.
Forty-five minutes later, he remembered his tea. Back in the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]