Posted 23 May 2002 - 02:44 PM
Ali, here is my short answer to you.
I still can not trust Karabekir memoirs, and even his honesty, for many reasons.
First of all, Karabekir was one of the inniciator of the introduction of the special taxes around WWII, he was also the same moron(sorry for the expression) that proposed the evacuation of the minorities out of Istanbul in WWII.
He was also the right hand of Halil in theior last excurtion in the East, the same Halil that planned to not lets one Armenian alive. Now do you expect me to believe this man ? He is an apologist of course, what do you expect him to write in his memoirs, something like this ?
"I joined the forces of Halil that planned to kill the Armenians to the last individual, and once for all eradicate them" Is that what you are waiting to read ? This man was a part of the head executors of the last phase of the genocide and one of the head of the post war, apologist policy from the same airs as the Edips, that from one side were talking about the large scall of the action, and from the other side accusing the Armenians of ordering mass killings.
For me Karabekir is a bloody murderer, and you are trying to reabilitate him, the same murderer that passed from its(not himan, he worth the "its" here) route from Alexendriopole and exterminating what was left of the Armenians, that from Russian statistics the population left in these regions, more then 80 % aged less then 12 years old.
"There are two factors which lead man to the extermination of his kind: the principles advocated by the idealists, and the material interest which the consequences of doing so afford certain classes. The idealists are the more dangerous, for one is obliged to respect them even of one cannot agree with them. Talaat was of that kind. I saw Talaat very rarely after the Armenian deportations. I remember well one day when he nearly lost his temper in discussing the question and said in a severe tone: 'Look here Halide Hanum. I have a heart as good as yours, and it keeps me awake at night to think of human suffering... I have the conviction that as long as a nation does the best for its own interests, and succeeds, with world admires it and thinks it moral. I am ready to die for what I have done, and I know I shall die for it. : In 1922 he was shot by an Armenian in Berlin."
Halide Edip in, "Memoirs of Halide Edip" The Century Company, NY, 1926, p. 387
These are the kind of things you will find in these memoirs, all are hidden like this, there is hidding meaning in all these writtings... you have the word extermination, with the word Armenian in the same passages, the you wonder what it means... then, the same memoirs justify the actions against the Armenians by calling them traitors, when it includes things such as a decision of extermination... the same way the Karabekir in his memoir talk about the eternel destruction of Armenia, massacre wiping out etc... etc... etc... then justify his action with events that have been allegedly reported when he was even not on the front...
Then Ali, you tell me we should read his memoir... for what ? For what we should read the memoirs of someone that associated with Halil in the last excurtions to purge the survivers of the east ? Are you serious ?
Do you want other examples of hidden messages Ali, here some for you from Kutay, even in his manipulations we see what he tries to hide.
In his biography of Talat "Talat Pasanin gurbet hatiralari", Vol.3 Istanbul: Kultur.
P. 1044, he describe of what happened to the court-Martial archives.
“These files were either burned in the stokeholes of public baths or were amongs the 56 wagonloads of historical documents which left the country as they were sold to Bulgaria at the price of 70 ‘para’ per one ‘okka.’
p. 1490
“The structure of the special organization necessarily remained secret … its ranks embraced the very valuable staff officers of the army and old and experienced commanders. From the civilian sector, they drew the select and renowned personages, identified with the fields of arts, literature and religion. The members of “Turk Ocaklari”, the focus of the power, force and will of the Turkish nationalism enrolled as a cadre units in the ranks of the Special Organization. The Special Organization operations could not have been incorporated in the literature and state archives since the organization was an entirely secret outfit. It was involved in actions which had the nature of accomplished facts, and which were the results of individual and personal decisions.”
Kutay also refer to some critic decisions, concerning orders (to the special organization). “highly secret decisions, they could not have been entered into files and archives of the state.” And during the prosecutions, the only files classed as “non-inclusive” were specifically those concerning the deportation.
In his other work “ Birinci dunya harbinde Teskilat-i Mahsusa “ Istanbul. Ercan, 1962.
p.18
“It is a fact that the Special Organization performed services which the forces at the disposal of the government and the law and order outfits absolutely couldn’t.. The measures taken for these services applied to areas within the borders of the Ottoman Empire where non-Turkish and non-Muslim races and nationalities constituted the majority of these areas populations, and which were always suspect in terms of their bonds and loyalty to the central authorities. These services were kept so very ‘secret’ that even Cabinet ministers were unaware of them” then he continue,“ The Organization’s plan involved the undertaking of measures by virtue of which the damages of the past legacies which the Ottoman state had been carrying on its shoulders as the burden and bequest of the centuries could be reduced to a minimum. When I think about it today I too find this plan ‘exceedingly courageous.’”
p.36
“In pursuit of its three principal goals, namely, unifying Turkey, Islamic Union, and Pan-Turkism, the organization carried out the state’s internal and external policies by accomplishing most important and at the same time dangerous tasks.”
Why would the things classed as the highest secrecy be the plan against the minorities, what was planned that worth the highest secrecy, more then the military secrecy?
Then he continues to quote E. Kuscubasi writings, and end up with “Ermeni tehciriyle alakadar” and finish with “hadiselerin ic yuzunde vazife almis bir insane olarak.”
All memoirs are like this, all are specicially touched to that way that the clear identification is pull of, its as well the same for Karabekirs, while like Dadrian quote, he order the eternel destruction he still write about the "Urasian" rhetoric of justification based on a war propaganda buil up in Istanbul in a time that he was even not on the direct front line.
Ah BTW, the references given here of course are from Dadrian work concerning the genocide in Turkish sources, I will find a way to send it to you.
Regards