Zilan massacre

The Zilan massacre or Zilantal massacre ( Kurdish : Komkujiya Zîlan or Komkujiya Geliyê Zîlan, Turkish Zilan Katliamı or Zilan Deresi Katliamı or Zilan Kırımı or Zilan Deresi Kırımı) describes a massacre of Kurds during the Ararat uprisings .

It took place in the Zilan Gorge (also Zeylântal) in Erciş (province of Van ) in July 1930 before the third Ararat offensive (7-14 September 1930) of the IX. Turkish Corps held under Ferik ( Lieutenant General ) Salih Omurtak. According to the Cumhuriyet , about 15,000 people died, but according to Hesen Hişyar Serdî (participant in the Ararat uprising and writer) 47,000 people were killed. and according to the Armenian scientist Garo Sasuni 5,000 people died. According to the Berliner Tageblatt , the Turks destroyed 220 villages in the area around Zilan and massacred 4,500 women and old people.

background

→ Main article : Ararat uprising

After the Sheikh Said uprising in September 1925, the Turkish government prepared a reform plan for eastern Turkey. This Şark Islahat Planı brought a special type of administration with a general inspector for the region. Kurdish aristocrats and religious leaders were deported to other parts of Turkey. With the law for the transfer of certain persons (tr: Bazı Eşhasın Şark Menatıkından Garp Vilâyetlerine Nakillerine Dair Kanun ) of July 17, 1927, the group of persons to be deported was expanded.

On October 5, 1927, various organizations in Beirut such as the Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti , Kürt Millet Fırkası , Comité de l'indépendance kurde , Kurdish League, Daschnakzutjun and with other Kurdish intellectuals who had fled the organization Xoybûn . The Xoybûn decided to send the former officer of the Ottoman and Turkish armies, Ihsan Nuri Pasha, to Ararat as a general to support the uprising there. The insurgents proclaimed the Republic of Ararat and appointed the tribal leader of the Celalî Îbrahîm Heskê Têlî as governor. The Xoybûn turned to the foreign states and the League of Nations for help .

Cabinet decision

On May 9, 1928, the Turkish government passed the amnesty law and thus an amnesty for all opposition Kurds who were ready to recognize the government. But the attempts of the Turkish government to start meaningful negotiations failed and so the Turkish government decided to conduct direct negotiations with Ihsan Nuri Pascha, but this was in vain.

On December 29, 1929 Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) led the cabinet meeting, which was also attended by Chief of Staff Fevzi Çakmak and First Inspector General of the East Ibrahim Tali (Öngören). With Decision No. 8692, the government decided on a military operation for June 1930.

Command of the military command

The Ararat from Iğdır of view.

On January 7, 1930 the General Staff sent the IX. Corps the text of the cabinet resolution:

• Rebel villages between Bulakbaşı and Şıhlı Köyü and places of retreat are to be occupied. The rebels are said to be cut off from supplies.
• After the bandits have been cleared of the districts, the army is supposed to march towards Mount Ararat and set up garrisons along the way.
• Only the mobile Jandarma is supposed to stay on site in the winter between 1930 and 1931. No civilians should remain in the area of ​​the gendarmerie.
• If the rebels are cut off from food and shelter, they will spread out or retreat to Iran. Then the problem with Iran should be solved.
• The operation will begin in the last week of June 1930 and before the harvest season.
• The commander of the IX. Corps will direct the military operation.

Postponement of the Ararat offensive

Mountains near Van .

On March 18, 1930, Salih (Omurtak) was appointed commander of the IX. Corps appointed (until May 8, 1934). On June 11, 1930, the first fighting broke out. Xoybûn appealed for help to the Kurds in Kurdistan. As a result, Turkey was forced to postpone its offensive.

Between June 19 and 20, 1930, hundreds of rebels crossed the Turkish-Persian border and cut the telegraph line between Çaldıran and Beyazıt . More than a hundred of them raided the center of Zeylan and Jandarmastation. Their tribesmen from Zeylan County joined them.

According to Salih Pascha's official report of July 2, 1930 about the situation north of Lake Van , there were around 350-400 rebels in the Patnos area . All the villagers supported them. About 400 rebels under the leadership of Seyt Resul were in the Zeylan area. Here, too, all the villagers support the rebels. In the Çaldiran area there were probably 400 rebels under Yusuf Abdal's leadership.

massacre

The Süphan Dağı with the Aygır Lake in the foreground.

The Turkish army used two corps (VII and IX) and 80 aircraft for the clean-up on July 8, 1930.

The date of the massacre is generally given as July 13, 1930, but Yusuf Mazhar, special correspondent for Cumhuriyet, the most widely read Turkish daily newspaper in the 1930-1940s, reported that the Erciş, Süphan Dağı and districts were cleaned up on July 12, 1930 Zeylan was completely complete.

The 44 burnt villages in the Zilanschlucht were: Hesenebdal ( Hasan Abdal ) Axs (Eqis, Doluca ) Şarbazar ( Şehirpazar ) Doxancî ( Doganci ) Tendurek ( Gergili ) Çaxirbeg ( Çakırbey ) Îlanlî ( Yılanlı ) Harhus, Babazik ( aksakal ) Komir ( Kömür ) SOR ( Taşkapı ) Sorik, Merşîd ( Mürşit ) Mescidlî ( Mescitli ) Qerekilîse ( Işbaşı, Sabanbüken ) Gunduk ( Kündük ) Zorava ( Yöreli ) Eryatîn ( Aryutin ), Kevan ( Hallaçköy ) Qoçkoprî ( Koçköprü ) Kurûçem (CEME Ziwa, Kuruçem ), Milk ( Mülk ) Yekmal û kilise ( Yalındam ) Gosk, Partaşa JERIN ( Aşağı Partas ) Partaşa Jorin ( Yukarı Partas ) Binesi, Bunizi, Pilaqlî, Keix , Sigûdlî ( Söğütlü ) Mığare, Qardoxan ( Kardoğan ), Kele ( Evbeyli ) Ûstekar ( Ağırkaya ) Sivar ( Süvarköy ) Qizîlkilîse ( Kizilkilise ) Ziyaret, Hiraşen, Qomik, Şeytanava, Birhan ( Bürhan ) and Yukarı Koçköprü. The villagers were tied together and killed with machine gun salvos.

According to the Cumhuriyet daily newspaper on July 16, 1930, around 15,000 people were killed and the Zilan River was filled with corpses up to its mouth.

The British Foreign Office reports:

"The conviction here is that the Turkish" success "near Erciş and Zilan was really only won through a few armed men and a large percentage of non-combatants ."

Eyewitnesses

According to Kakil Erdem, who was one of the eyewitnesses to the massacre, thirty-five of his relatives were killed and soldiers cut and opened the bellies of pregnant women. In front of his eyes, three of his family members were scalped and two of his brothers were beaten to death.

aftermath

On August 31, 1930, the daily Milliyet published a statement by Turkish Prime Minister İsmet İnönü :

“In this country only the Turkish nation has the right to claim ethnic and racial rights. Every other element has no such right. They [the insurgents] are Eastern Turks and were deceived by unfounded propaganda and eventually lost their way. "

- Original : Bu ülkede sadece Türk ulusu etnik ve ırksal haklar talep etme hakkına sahiptir. Başka hiç kimsenin böyle bir hakkı yoktur. Aslı astarı olmayan propagandalara kanmış, aldanmış, neticede yollarını şaşırmış Doğu Türkleridir.

After the massacre, the property of those killed was given to Kurds loyal to the government. At the confluence of the rivers Zilan and Hacıderi, a Jandarma watch station was built and other buildings were banned. In 1980 the area was released for settlement again and Afghan refugees were resettled there.

Cultural influences

Yaşar Kemal , who is one of Turkey's leading writers, found out about the massacre while traveling as a journalist in the region in the 1950s. He described the massacre in his novel Deniz Küstü (Eng: Wrath of the Sea) from 1978. The protagonist of the novel Selim Balıkçı had participated as a soldier in the Ararat offensive, was then injured in the face and taken to Cerrahpaşa in Istanbul for treatment.

The Zilan massacre and censorship

In August 2009, journalists from Dicle Haber Ajansı news agency , Ercan Oksuz and Oktay Candemir, were sentenced to 6 months in prison. They had interviews with contemporary witnesses.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Hovîtiya Artêşê şermezar dikin" ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article of the Azadiya Welat from July 15, 2010. Kurdish  
2. ↑ Geliyê Zîlan bir rojeva parlemenê ( Kurdish ) In: Yeni Özgür Politika . Retrieved August 17, 2010.
3. ↑ Şahidên komkujiyê axivîn ( Kurdish ) In: HABER DIYARBAKIR . June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 
4. ↑ Helebce jibîr nabe! ( Kurdish ) In: Nasname . April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 
5. ↑ "Zilan katliamı" ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article by Mehmet Şevket Eygi of November 17, 2009 in Millî Gazete . Turkish  
6. ↑ Felit Özsoy, Tahsin Eriş: Öncesi ve Sonrasıyla 1925 Kürt Direnişi (Palu-Hanî-Genç) , Pêrî Yayınları, 2007, ISBN 9789759010577 , p. 271. Turkish
7. ↑ "Devlet Zilan Katliamı ile yüzleşmeli" ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article by Nazan Sala from October 8, 2009 in Gündem . Turkish  
8. ↑ "“ Kürt açılımı ”nı Ararat-Süphan ekseninde izlerken ..." , article by Cengiz Çandar from July 31, 2009 in the Radikal . Turkish
9. ↑ Ahmet Kahraman: Kürt İsyanları: Tedip ve Tenkil , Evrensel Basım Yayın, ISBN 9789756525487 , p. 322. Turkish
10. ↑ Kemal Burkay : Anılar, belgeler , Cilt 1, Deng Yayınları, 2000, p. 8. Turkish
11. ↑ Osman Pamukoğlu : Unutulanlar dışında yeni bir şey yok: Hakkari ve Kuzey Irak dağlarındaki askerler , Harmoni Yayıncılık, 2003, ISBN 9756340002 , p. 16. Turkish
12. ↑ ^{a b} Yusuf Mazhar: Cumhuriyet , 16 Temmuz 1930, ... Zilan harekatında imha edilenlerin sayısı 15,000 kadardır. Zilan Deresi ağzına kadar ceset dolmuştur ... Turkish
13. ↑ ^{a b} Ahmet Kahraman, ibid , p. 211, Karaköse , 14 (Özel muhabirimiz bildiriyor) ... Turkish
14. ↑ ^{a b} "Osmanlı'dan bugüne Kürtler ve Devlet-4" ( Memento of the original from February 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article by Ayşe Hür from October 23, 2008 in the Taraf . Turkish  
15. ↑ M. Kalman: Belge, tanık ve yaşayanlarıyla Ağrı Direnişi 1926-1930 , Pêrî Yayınları, İstanbul, 1997, ISBN 9758245015 , p. 105. Turkish
16. ↑ Ahmet Kahraman, ibid , pp. 207-208. Turkish
17. ^ "Der Krieg am Ararat" (telegram from our correspondent), Berliner Tageblatt , October 3, 1930.
18. ^ Naci Kutlay: "Cumhuriyet ve Kürtler", Toplumsal Tarih , No. 160, April 2007, pp. 27-28. Turkish
19. ↑ ^{a b c} Mehmet Köçer, "Ağrı İsyanı (1926-1930)", Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi , Cilt: 14, Sayı: 2, s. 385. (PDF; 298 kB) Turkish
20. ^ ^{A b} Paul J. White: Primitive rebels or revolutionary modernizers ?: the Kurdish national movement in Turkey , Zed Books, 2000, ISBN 9781856498227 , p. 78. English
21. ↑ Wadie Jwaideh: The Kurdish national movement: its origins and development , Syracuse University Press, 2006, ISBN 9780815630937 , p 212. English
22. ↑ ^{a b} Faik Bulut: Devletin Gözüyle Türkye'de Kürt İsyanları , Yön Yayınları, 1991, p. 190. Turkish
23. ↑ Cemşid Bender, Genelkurmay Belgelerinde Kürt İsyanları , C. 2, Kaynak Yayınları, 1992, pp. 93-94. Turkish
24. ↑ TC Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademlerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri , Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 232. Turkish
25. ↑ Faik Bulut, ibid , p. 162. Turkish
26. ↑ Faik Bulut, ibid , p. 167. Turkish
27. ↑ ^{a b} Yönetim Zamandizini yılı 1930 Türkiye Cumhuriyeti İdare Tarihi Araştırması (TİDATA) Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Kamu Yönetimi Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi: 2, Ankara, 2007, p 180 ( page 78 ; PDF; 1.4 MB) 12 Temmuz'da Zeylan deresi civarındaki eşkıya imha edildi. Turkish
28. ↑ Yusuf Mazhar, Cumhuriyet , 13 Temmuz 1930, "Temizlik başladı: Zeylân deresindekiler tamamen imha edildi. Bunlardan tek bir kişi kurtulmamıştır. Ağrı'da harekât devam ediyor." Ankara 12 (Telefonla) --- Son malûmata göre Erciş, Süphan dağı ve Zeylân havalisinde temizlik tamamen birmiş .... Turkish
29. ↑ ^{a b} Kemal Süphandağ: Ağrı direnişi ve Haydalanlılar , Fırat Yayınları, 2001, pp. 222–223. Turkish
30. ↑ ^{a b} "77 yıl önce yaşanan Zilan Katliamı'nın tanığı: Hamilelerin karnını deştiler, akrabalarımın kafatasını yüzdüler" , Dicle Haber Ajansı, September 21, 2007, 09:56, accessed on August 18, 2010. Turkish
31. ^ Robin Leonard Bidwell , Kenneth Bourne, Donald Cameron Watt, Great Britain Foreign Office, British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the foreign office confidential print. From the first to the second World War. Turkey, Iran, and the Middle-East, 1918-1939. The Turkish revival, 1921-1923 , University Publications of America, 1997, ISBN 9780890936030 , p. 106. English
32. ↑ Vahap Coşkun, " Anayasal Vatandaşlık ", published in the winter of 2009 in the magazine Köprü No. 105. Turkish
33. ↑ Kemal Süphandağ, ibid , p. 231. Turkish
34. ↑ Quotation from the English translation from p. 58: (Salih Pasha) ...... Every time one of his soldiers was killed by the Kurds, he'd go mad with rage and order the nearest Kurdish village to be set on fire and all its men shot.
35. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Freedom of the Press 2010 Draft Report , article on www.freedomhouse.org. See page 2.

Web links

• Bu kaçıncı isyan, bu kaçıncı harekât? , Article by Ayşe Hür in the Taraf of December 23, 2007 Turkish