This was not only done for the benefit of the Young Turks it was also a planned by the turks to cause a massacre.
How do you make such a claim when the young turks were still not in existence in 1896? Also the first time we see Turks and Armenians cooperate with each other was in 1905 when they tried to kill the sultan. Not all young turks are also to blame. Turks like Akhmed Riza and Damat Ferrid were Pro Armenians and believed in rights, who also helped a lot of Armenians escape. It was not untill 1913 when Anti Armenian feelsing were started to be shown by the Ittihad that came into power in 1909. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT DONT BASH ON THE ARF, those Fedayis died for U, how dare you degrade what they have done.