ARMENIA. (Hansard, 12 August 1904)

§ THE EARL OF ABERDEEN

My Lords, I rise to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if further information can now be given regarding recent disturbances in certain districts of the Armenian provinces; also if His Majesty's Government contemplate the appointment of additional Consuls in those regions; and to move for Papers. In the notice which I sent to the noble Marquess the Foreign Secretary of my intention to ask this Question I mentioned some of the localities in which disturbances had occurred, but quite recently other events of the same sort have been reported in the newspapers. It is stated in the newspapers that within the last few days Armenian revolutionaries have appeared near the village of Outchkilissa, and that Turkish soldiers have made that the excuse for destroying that village and, among other villages, Karabazar and Sayto. They butchered men and outraged women. There was a repetition o what is too common a story. Some Armenian bands endeavoured to retaliate, and did retaliate, by killing a number of Turkish soldiers. I am aware that it is frequently stated, on behalf of the Turkish Government, that these troubles, and the terrible events which ac-company them, are largely due to the fact that evil-minded people have instigated insurrection. But if half or a quarter of the outrages upon women reported to have taken place are true, there is very little need for instigation. It is a matter 385 of history and general experience, of course, that this particular crime is more apt than any other to arouse great excitement and violence, and unless more effective measures are taken to repress these excessive outrages insurrections must occur. As to the second part of my Question, it was stated some time ago in the other House by the Under-Secretary of State that His Majesty's Government considered that there was a sufficient number of Consuls in these regions at present to look after British interests. But besides trade and individual interests this country has a responsibility, as one of the signatories to the Treaty of Berlin, in regard to the protection of the Christian population. I do not suggest that our Consuls should act as diplomatic agents, but that they should be agents for collecting and transmitting information, which would have a preventive influence in regard to such disturbances. We are aware that urgent representations have been made in the noble Marquess's despatch, but it seems desirable that further steps should be taken. I beg to move for Papers.

§ * THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

My Lords, there has been, during the present year, as the noble Earl is aware, a state of continuous unrest in these Armenian districts. It is not easy, in such cases, to trace the causes of that unrest to their sources. You may say that the attitude of the revolutionary party has been in some measure due to the fact that a large concentration of badly-disciplined Turkish troops has taken place in their neighbourhood; on the other hand, it will probably be said that the presence of these troops was regarded as indispensable by the Turkish Government on account of the activity of the revolutionary party. We have, in the circumstances, endeavoured to do all that was in our power to allay the excitement which prevails, and our Ambassador at Constantinople has been unremitting in his efforts to persuade the Turkish Government to take such steps as seemed to him best calculated to have that result. He has continually urged the necessity of disbanding as many as possible of these Turkish troops, the desirability of amicable negotiation with the discontented inhabitants, 386 and, above all things, he has pressed upon the Porte its responsibility for the lawless proceedings of the Kurds, and the duty of keeping them in proper order.

I am bound to say that Sir Nicholas O'Conor's representations have been well received by the Turkish Government, and that they have given a considerable amount of encouragement to the steps which have been taken. The Sultan received the Armenian Patriarch, and, as a result of the interviews which took place, there was an attempt at mediation on the part of the Armenian Bishops—an attempt of which a great deal was expected, but of which, I am afraid, very little came. Then, at our initiative, the Consuls representing the French, Russian, and British services met in the month of June at Moush and put pressure upon the local authorities, and besides that we were able to arrange that a British officer, Captain Tyrrell, our Consul at Van, should accompany the Turkish troops. I mention this because the noble Earl dwelt upon the value of the presence of British officials in such conditions as those with which we are unfortunately familiar in Armenia. In spite of these precautions there have been several regrettable outbreaks, one in particular in May, when the insurgents attacked the Turkish troops, and when, as might have been expected, reprisals took place. There was considerable loss of life and destruction of property, though we are given to understand that those were not as great as was represented in some of the published reports.

I may mention that on 21st June the Grand Vizier informed Sir Nicholas O'Conor that certain decisions had been arrived at by the Council of Ministers. These, I am bound to say, seem to be of a satisfactory nature. Those decisions were to the effect that permission should be granted to the refugees at Moush and other places to return to their homes; that a sum of money should be appropriated and sent to the Vali of Bitlis to assist the refugees in rebuilding their houses; that barracks should be built in order to protect the Armenians against the predatory raids of the Kurds; that a general amnesty should be granted to all those who surrendered, and who were not caught in the actual commission of crime; that 387 an efficient gendarmerie should be reorganised in Bitlis and the neighbouring vilayets; and that an inquiry should be held into the mode and system of administration in order to check existing abuses. These promised reforms seem to have been, to some extent, at all events, carried out, because the reports which we have since received, both from our Consul, Mr. Heathcote, and from Captain Tyrrell, were certainly of a more satisfactory character during the summer months.

Mr. Heathcote telegraphed on 28th June that the settlement of the refugees in the mountains was proceeding satisfactorily, and that the vilayet was undisturbed; and in July he was able to say that the condition of affairs had materially improved; that the Turkish authorities were genuinely endeavouring to relieve the immediate wants of the refugees who returned to their homes; that a suitable official had been appointed to supervise the work of reinstating them in their villages, and that the Vali had promised that the arrest of a notorious Kurd and certain other malefactors should be effected. Captain Tyrrell's reports were also of an encouraging description. He reported in June that he had himself visited the disturbed districts, and that the authorities had placed no difficulties in the way of his doing so. He said that there had been considerable loss of life, but he reported that it would be difficult to sustain the charge of massacres and atrocities. The participation of the Kurds was, moreover, not proved, and the orders issued by the authorities were undoubtedly intended to prevent it.

In July, again, he reported that he had collected at Sassun 300 refugees from Taloriy and had handed them over to the settlement officer; that some hundred more refugees had returned from Taloriy, and that there had been great exaggeration as to the numbers reported killed. He added that the progress of reinstatement was satisfactory, that cattle were being restored, houses rebuilt, and that the Mutessarif of Moush and his subordinates were working energetically and well. This indicated upon the whole a distinct improvement in the condition of these disturbed districts, and I should have been inclined to take a 388 hopeful view of the situation had it not been for the fact that at the end of July there was, unfortunately, another serious conflict at a place called Gravi, near Moush, when several soldiers were killed and several of the inhabitants were killed by the soldiers. With regard to the noble Earl's suggestion that an addition might be made to the Consular officers employed in those regions, we have come to the conclusion that the staff already available is sufficient for the purpose. The only other fact I have to add is that we propose at an early date to lay Papers in which the noble Earl will find a good deal of information bearing on the subject which he has brought before the House.