Raymond Kevorkian Discusses Finer Points of History At NAASR

The death toll was definitely heavier in the Eastern Provinces, he said. About 5 to 10 per- cent of those who were on the caravans survived. In the Western provinces, he said, the deported traveled with their families, mostly on trains [rather than on foot] which increased the chance of survival.” Next, he said, he studied the Teshkilat-i-Mahsusa’s central role in the destruction of the Armenians. “Now we can zoom in on the num- ber of groups of Teshkilat and how they oper- ated,” he explained. “We can distinguish between official and unofficial killers.”

Kevorkian gave examples of the codified methods of property seizure by the Turkish offi- cials. Many ways were used to confiscate prop- erty, often detailed officially. The leaders of the Young Turks local clubs were among the first to receive their share of the loot, all documented.

For example, the Austro-Hungarian consulate provided information on the seizure of silk and other textile factories owned by Armenians in Bursa. A favorite method was to invite the owner of such a factory to the local governor’s house, at which time the factory owner would be persuaded to sell” the factory to the Vali and receive gold as payment, only to have to return the gold in another room on his way out. This charade happened over and over until all the factories were seized.

Kevorkian said this particular playacting showed that “even the process of theft was made administrative,” rather than just outright seizure.

The shops similarly were con- fiscated for a temporary period of time, where a needed good was sold at inflated prices. Once the profits were made and then dried up, the officials would lose inter- est and just leave the shops.

Traditionally, he explained, there was no middle class in the Ottoman Empire, as trade, manufacture or business were relegated to non-Muslims. The Muslims, instead, were members of the ruling class, and were leaders in the military, administrative and political spheres.

With the Industrial Revolution and the increased wealth of the “lower classes” in business, the Young Turks realized that they were missing out on a lot of money. Finally, the government officials realized that if they killed the entire members of a family, save for one young girl, that girl could marry a Turk, who could inherit the family’s wealth.

Kevorkian also spoke about “a broader demographic engineering” practiced by the Ottomans, who not only killed Armenians, but moved Cherkez and other Muslim immigrants to Zeytoon and Kharpert immediately to take their places.

During the program, Kevorkian spoke in Armenian, with English translation provided by Khatchig Mouradian, editor of the Armenian Weekly.

The Armenian Genocide: The Complete History is available at the NAASR bookstore.