Katchaznouni's Observations
Katchaznouni particularly states that he has come to his conclusions after a grave thinking process. The conclusions he has reached are not the result of superficiality or lack of will-power. He knows he will infuriate many. He calls on the delegates of the Dashnagzoutiun Conference to listen to him patiently, with no prejudice. As he is determining the boundaries of his report, he explains that he will examine the period extending from World War I to the Lausanne Conference, dividing it into certain phases from the point of view of the Armenian question and will focus on the role Dashnagzoutiun has played in this process.
The first Prime Minister of the Dashnagzoutiun Government makes the following observations:
- It was a mistake to establish the volunteer units.
- They were unconditionally allied with Russia.
- They had not taken into consideration the balance of power which was in Turkey's favour.
- The decision of the deportation of Armenians was a rightful measure taken by Turks to serve their purpose.
- Turkey had acted with an instinct of self-defence.
- The British occupation once more aroused the hopes of the Dashnags.
- What they established in Armenia was a Dashnag dictatorship.
- They had acted in pursuit of the imperialist demand, "From Sea to Sea" and had been provoked with this.
- They massacred the Muslim population.
- The Armenian terrorist acts were directed at winning over the Western public opinion.
- The fault was not to be found outside the Dashnagzoutiun Party.
- The Dashnagzoutiun Party had nothing else to do but commit suicide.
Yes, all these observartions were made by Katchaznouni, the first Prime Minister of Armenia and the founder of the Dashnagzoutiun Party.
Katchaznouni considers the essence of the Turkish-Armenian relations during the period of 1914-23 as a state of war. According to Katchaznouni's evaluations, this war was actually between Turkey and the great imperialist powers. Katchaznouni does not make any evaluations that hold Turkey responsible, for he considers the Dashnags and their Armenian followers as one side of the war and Turkey as the other side. He concludes that in the face of Turkish victory, the Dashnagzoutiun Party has nothing else to do but dissolve itself.
These observations may surprise some people. However, we know that many other Armenian statesmen and historians have also made the same evaluations. The years following 1921 were years of deep self-criticism for Armenian intellectuals. They were finally face to face with realities. Doubtlessly, the Bolshevik rule played an important part in this new turn to reality. The new stand taken against imperialism necessarily reminded them of the realities and pulled them towards the Lenin-Ataturk alliance. For this reason, especially the Armenian and Dashnag documents belonging to the period following 1921 confirm Katchaznouni's views. The Dashnag documents, some of which are found in the Armenian State Archives expose the lie of "Armenian Genocide" as dramatically as Katchaznouni's report. The Dashnag sources themselves disclose how they were used against Turkey by the Tsarist Russia and Western imperialism; what massacres they were responsible for during the occupation and how just was the fight the Turkish army waged.
Report Teaches a Lesson
Katchaznouni's report is extremely valuable not only because it discloses an indisputable truth but also because it teaches invaluable lessons even in the present day world. The present USA strategy bestows special missions on small ethnic and religious groups in dividing certain countries. The bloody outcomes of these missions are apparent in the examples of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. What is more, the world public opinion is aware that new examples will ensue. However, there is always a final scene in these plots and contrivances. Katchaznouni's report provides an opportunity to see the tragedies that fill those last scenes, with all their sadness. Those who allowed themselves to be pushed against the peoples they had been living together with, for hundreds, even thousands of years, had not only their neighbours but also their own people pay the price for it, most gravely. Katchaznouni, like all the other Armenian writers state that the Tsarist Russian regime, the British and the French imperialism used them and when, finally, they were left alone, they had nothing else to do but bemoan that they had been betrayed. Those who can interpret the developments in history can certainly see that the regrets and the cries, which will follow the present historical period, will not be in a different tone.