Yozgat
Institutional Sponsor
Taner Akcam
Publication Date
4-2-2018
Summary
[This is a long document, so consult excel documentation for full summary]
Statement on who the commander and officers were who organized those who were released from prison and formed them into the "Special Organization". It states how many were in it and what their rank was; describes who the civil servants were in another Organization arranged by Unionist delegate Necati Efendi, and where they were dispatched. Since it became clear that the arms and ammunication that had arrived from İstanbul had been sent to Corum [Çorum], accurate and detailed information is provided.
Like others who have been observing from outside, he can see that the Special Organization battalion was formed out of the prisoners who were released from Ankara prison. He has received news that the Battalion board and former Unionist delegate Necati Efendi had been behind this. He states that he does not know who else, besides Necati Efendi is involved and what their names are, just that Captain Irfan Efendi had met with Governor Mazhar Bey in Ankara beforehand. Uniforms, arms and ammunication had been sent from istanbul for the battalion.
Based on the code of law dated 30 April 1915 [17 Nisan 1915], the commission for which he served as the president, collected arms and ammunition from the population and Armenians. He discusses who the members of this commission are and where the collected weaponry was deposited.
The members of the commission who were just below the president were Gendarmerie regiment commander County Executive Vasıf Bey and Central High Commissioner İbrahim Efendi. The weapons that were collected were given over to the Armory.
About how the prisoners from Ankara Central Prison, the individuals whose names and crimes are documented in the ledger have not engaged in any negative activity or actions.
When those who were imprisoned in Ankara Prison for crimes other than sexual ones, were asked one by one, if they wanted to be soldiers, they all declared that they were interested. The names, crimes, sentences and time spent in prison were considered for those who were determined appropriate, after an examination was conducted, and those who did not exhibit negative behavior were noted in the ledger.
By letter written by the Fifth Army Corps Deputy Commander Colonel Halil Recai Bey to the provincial office and the law in question, a search for weaponry etc in the city was ordered and a commission was formed for this purpose. The members of the commission were High Commissioner İbrahim Efendi and Gendarmerie Regiment commander Major Vasıf Bey. In addition, 206 individuals who had been arrested and imprisoned in Ankara, along with 43 privates of the Ankara Military Branch Presidential Office, were brougt to the Chief of the Special Organization in Ankara, İrfan Bey, on May 20, 1915 [7 Mayıs 1915]. İrfan Bey was the unit commander and after distributing the arms and ammunition that had arrived from Istanbul for the Battalion they were dispatched to Corum [Çorum].
Three separate documents had been sent concerning the atrocities in Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan] and Kumkuyu.
Several Armenian spies who were traitors from the region were killed during deportation. The Commander's office has ordered that their remains be removed from the area by tomorrow noon. By order from the County Executive of Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan], the bodies should be buried by the locals.
Police Headquarters commander Safvet reports that on Wednesday, 36 Armenians were to be deported out of the village of Yazicepni [Yazıçepni], in the County of Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan] accompanied by a four member Gendarmerie security unit. The Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan] Gendarmerie took these Armenians and divided them up between three rooms and while they were being guarded, at 3:30 a.m. in the night, the Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan] county Gendarmerie commander Sergeant İhsan and seven privates came to the village, tied up the arms of the 36 Armenians in the rooms and brought them outside the village. When eleven of the Armenians escaped, the gendarmes tried firing on them but they managed to get away. After this the 25 remaining Armenians were shot down and killed. At that point Sergeant İhsan returned to Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan] and in the morning after digging a trench and buring the Armenians, the soldiers also returned to Bogazlian [Boğazlıyan]. On the day of the incident, since the commander of the police headquarters was occupied with transporting two soldiers who had gone AWOL, the only person in headquarters was the clerk Mehmet.
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[This is a long document, so consult excel documentation for full summary]
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Recommended Citation
Guerguerian, Krikor, "Yozgat 65" (2018). Yozgat. 65.
https://commons.clarku.edu/yozgat/65
