Armenia and the WarHacobian, A. P. (Avetoon Pesak)
History
Armenia and the War
Hacobian, A. P. (Avetoon Pesak)
Armenian question; World War, 1914-1918 -- Armenia
Group "C" contains proofs of the conduct of insurgent Armenians in the
unequal struggles for self-defence, and it should be remembered that
these are but a few instances, mainly of what was seen or heard of by
foreigners. The ruined towns and villages, the silent fields and
highways of this land of blood and tears, what secrets of desperate
heroism in defence of wife and child, mother and sister, these guard
will probably never be known. Group "C" also contains evidence of the
fact that the Turks had to employ considerable bodies of troops to
overcome the desperate resistance of Armenians in many places, such as
Moush, Sassoon, Van, etc. A third feature in this group is, that the
Turks attributed their defeats in the Caucasus to the Armenians.[24]
Taken together, these extracts, and the Blue-book from which they are
taken, form a better mirror of the characteristics of the two races than
all that has been written on the subject for a century. They show the
radical dissimilarity of their natures, and the vast difference between
the respective stages of civilization in which the two races find
themselves.
Was it Buddha or Confucius who said that the principal difference
between man and the rest of the animal world is, that man possesses the
feeling of pity for the pain and suffering of his fellow-men or animals?
What would they think of this strange race of human beings who delight
in torture and murder, sparing neither sex nor age, nor even unborn
babes and their mothers; who inflict pain and jeer at their victims?
I remember reading in one of Mr. Lloyd George's speeches not long ago:
"It is not the trials one has to go through in life, but the way one
faces them that matters," or words to that effect. This is as true of
nations as it is of individuals. "In the reproof of chance lies the true
proof of men," and of nations. How has the Armenian nation conducted
itself in this great upheaval and borne the terrible ordeal revealed by
the Blue-book: an ordeal the horror and magnitude of which it is
absolutely beyond the power of the human mind to imagine? The Blue-book
itself furnishes the answer. From the first day of the war, Armenians in
all countries understood the nature of the issues involved. They had no
doubt on which side lay their sympathies, which were never influenced by
the varying fortunes of the war. They were exposed to grave risks and
paid a terrible price. Could there be a better proof of intellectual
rectitude and the sincerity of sentiment? This, I trust, will silence
for ever the dastardly reflections often cast upon the honesty of the
Armenian people. There are some dishonest Armenians as there are some
dishonest men in all nations. But, whether through prejudice, malice, or
ignorance of the facts, to brand as dishonest a whole people who have
been on the Cross for half a millennium for their religion and
patriotism, is unworthy of civilized and right-minded men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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