New Book Presents US Press Coverage of Azerbaijani Aggression against Armenians 1905-1921

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By Gayane Barseghyan

Special to the Mirror-Spectator

The second and expanded edition of the book, Azeri Aggression against Armenians in Transcaucasia, Reports from the U.S. Press (1905-1921) (Yerevan, 2023), by Ara Ketibian has come out, an imprint of Areg Publishing House. The present volume is a compilation of US news reports, eyewitness accounts, editorial opinions and political analyses which unfold and trigger deep understanding of the massacres committed against Armenians by Tatars (as Azerbaijanis were known then) from 1905 to 1921.

This volume comprises 505 US press original articles, extracted from both best-known US newspapers (The New York Times, The Boston Daily Globe, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Daily Tribune, The Los Angeles Times) and numerous smaller state and county-based ones. The compiled articles spell out in great precision the incessant hostilities towards Armenians by Tatars – the brutal suppression, repeated instances of outrageous cruelty, destruction of life and property, plunder and arson, slaughter and extermination of entire Armenian population from Armenian villages and towns. The articles as well reveal the instances of triple siege of Armenians from three sides by Tatars, Turks and Kurds.

The US media coverage from 1905 to 1921 alludes to exclusive stories in the Armenian Highlands and Transcaucasia in line with the regional developments, hitting the headlines upon breaking. In 1905 and 1917 there was a revolution in the Russian Empire, followed by a breakup and collapse of the Empire in 1917. The latter gave rise to the escalation of inter-ethnic and inter-religious clashes. Moreover, in 1918 the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Baku, which led to the massacre of thousands of Armenians. Thus, in the light of the foregoing, the subsumed US press back copies narrate about Russia in revolt, Baku plunged into anarchy and chaos, pillage and fighting, leading to the massacres of hundreds of Armenians by Tatars, ghastly street murders, accompanied by mutilation of the dead in Baku streets. Next, the town Shushi was besieged by Tatars, leaving the city racked with pain and anguish, filling every corner with the agony of loss. The streets of Shushi were filled with the dead and wounded, asylum seeker and starving people, mutilated Armenian children thrown to dogs.

Furthermore, the compiled articles showcase the collapse of oil industry in Transcaucasia, Russia’s Civil War, the ravage by fire and sword of the Armenian quarter in Shushi, the renewal of Tatar-Armenian war, the reasons behind the massacre of Armenians, the plight of Armenians: fleeing from Kurds and being harried by Tatars. Hence, they reveal appalling bloodsheds, Tatar ferocity, and demolishment of Armenian churches.

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The articles also bring to light the Turkish advance and their deadly menace in the Caucasus, British presence in Baku and their subsequent evacuation, the deportation by Turks of 8000 Armenians from Alexandropol and Transcaucasia, the disarming of Armenians in Gandzak. Meanwhile, Russia was playing both ends against the middle. Thus, it will not come as a surprise to learn that the articles under study underscore the helpless state of Armenians, in great need of speedy relief. As a result of all this ill-treatment, thousands of asylum seeker and assistance-beseeching Armenians were dying from famine, starvation and cholera. In the midst of which a brave couple, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel E. Newman salvaged twenty thousand orphans.

On the other side of the coin, the back copies included in the second and expanded edition showcase not only the massacres committed against Armenians from 1905 to 1921, but they also indicate Armenian’s heroic fighting in withstanding the siege. Albeit the numerous attacks and escalated tensions of unprecedented scale, being on the brink of extinction Armenians displayed incredible bravery against the volatile and uncontrollable backdrop.

Among all the compiled back copies of US periodicals, The Christian Science Monitor best sheds light on Armenian’s heroism in an article titled “Armenia’s Daring General,” issued on March 30, 1920. The article highlights the bravery of Armenia’s General Andranik Ozanyan, introducing him as a general who “stands upon the highest pinnacle of Armenian heroism.” The article reveals instances of being outnumbered by Turks, but defeating them totally. In 1901 in a monastery near Mush, Andranik’s forces of 39 men were surrounded by an army of 5000 Turks. Joined by 40 men from Sassoun, General Andranik utterly defeated Turks. Next, “Two years later Abdul Hamid sent 60,000 men against Andranik, who had about 200. European representatives intervened, but the Turks attacked Sassun. Andranik and his 200 reinforced by the 1000 in Sassun, descended into the plain and defeated the Turks,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. Moreover, as the article progresses, the Christian Science Monitor narrates about the message received from General Thomson of the British Army, requesting General Andranik to cease fighting: “But for this request, the Armenians say that the general would have utterly defeated the Tartars and pacified the country. General Andranik sheathed his sword reluctantly.”

The first edition of the book was compiled during 2020’s Azerbaijani-initiated 44-day Artsakh war. The current expanded edition was compiled during Artsakh blockade by Azerbaijan in 2022. “As this book goes to print, the entire population of Artsakh, numbering 120,000, including 30,000 children, are facing death by starvation – a direct and intended consequence of Azerbaijan’s illegal closure of the Lachin corridor,” writes Ketibian in the preface of the book.

With hindsight, the author also alludes to the 44-day war in 2020, military aggression of Azerbaijan and the general indifference displayed by the international community. Ketibian highlights in the Preface that after signing the trilateral ceasefire agreement in November 2020, Azerbaijan has refused to return the Armenian POWs, approved for its military’s illegal crossing into Armenian sovereign territory, condoned the mistreatment of Armenian military and civilian captives, continuously harassed the Armenian civilian population living in border villages, carried out its policy of Armenophobia, continued with its practice of destroying Armenian religious and cultural assets under the guise of “restoration” (p. VII).

Ketibian is a renowned Australian-Armenian researcher, specializing in the study of international newspaper archives, in particular the American press. He graduated from Mekhitarist Congregation College in Venice, majoring in Armenian studies. Ketibian has delivered lectures on the Armenian language and history at the Melkonyan Educational Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus. He has also been a member of the editorial team of the Ararat Daily newspaper in Beirut, Lebanon. He has published 14 volumes on the theme of the Genocide of the Christian minorities (Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians), perpetrated by the Ottoman and later the Turkish nationalist authorities. Thus, the huge collection of works comprises volumes on the Armenian Genocide, prelude and aftermath, forced conversions in Ottoman Turkey, the Genocide of the Ottoman Greeks, orphans of Genocide, the Assyrian Genocide, the Adana massacres, as reported in the U.S. Press, and other monumental volumes.

“Ketibian’s work is truly unique in its extent and contents. With this particular volume and the numerous other volumes which he has already published, he has almost single-handedly carried out the work of an entire research group. I am sure that this volume will be followed by many other useful publications,” stated Ara Papyan, head of Modus Vivendi Center, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Canada (2000-2006).

 

(Gayane Barseghyan is a lecturer at Brusov State University, Yerevan in the Chair of English. The scope of her research comprises studies in Linguistics and Romano-Germanic Philology.)

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