The Letter Of Turkish Armenian Before Committing Suicide

Sevan Ince, a Turkish Armenian, who lived his life in Turkey and has grown up with stories of his father and grandfather just like all other Armenians living in many different parts of the World. In 23 January 2009, he decided to commit a suicide after struggling with economical problems in his company and went to the church for the last time in Kadikoy, Istanbul. He shot himself on head right after hanging a letter on the wall of the Church. It is important that his last letter to the Turks and Armenians was dedicated to the 1915 incidents. It is strange that his story was a little bit different from the Diaspora Armenians. Here is the letter:

"The other night, we four Armenian friends were out from our Clubhouse and enjoying our water pipes at Galatasaray. The conversation turned around and came to the known topic. I sensed that every one is troubled on the same subject. How would you make this heard to the world as a Turk with Armenian origin being a simple citizen of Turkey? . . You are not a reputed artist, politician or president of some association that others would extend the microphone to you for an interview. You are not a columnist, so that you can make your ideas heard from your newspaper corner.

All is fine, but we are fed up with this affair. Other people speak in our place, knowing or having no idea. One side say that “there was a genocide made to Armenians” and on the other side they say “there is no genocide”. Now the latest fashion is those who say, “let us leave it to historians to solve”.

I just look to those who say that there was a genocide committed, and I see that they are either diaspora members full of hatred and grudge or politicians, who have a benefit from the matter. I look at those who say “there was no genocide” and I see that they have no deep knowledge, but refuse it as a habit.

Speaking of historians, for God’s sake, what are they going to find out? Can be there a document of genocide? If a document is found by accident, a counter document is found and the argument continues to nowhere. The truth is known by me and others like me, but nobody else! We are the people who heard the incidents from the first hand. We are Turkish Armenians.

The Turkish Armenians bear a great difference from the Outside Armenians! We are the grand children of those Armenians who stayed in Turkey during the relocation or those who came back. We did not hear only one type of stories. Diaspora Armenians know only stories of death. They did not come back and did not see the embarrassed faces of their neighbors. They accuse only Turks for these deaths, they name all as genocide.

Nevertheless Turkish Armenians' story is quite different.

For example, my grandmother was telling how his elder brother was taken from his farm in Erzincan and that he had to pay a donkey-load of gold to a corporal as ransom to save him. None of them, the gold or brother came back! My grandmother was telling how the Armenian youngsters of the village were gathered, given arms and made revolutionist gangs to fight with Turks. Their uniforms were given by people that spoke foreign language. My grandfather used to tell in cries about the Ottoman Captain Sinan, who did his utmost to save all his family in Kayseri. Thanks to the captain, none in the family was ever hurt.

We listened to stories of bloodshed, but we also heard of the Turks who lied in front of the Turkish soldiers to save his Armenian friend carried away, or the neighboring Turks who opened their arms when the relocated persons returned home. Therefore, that is why I say we are the one that should be colsulted. No one can be more objective than us.

This story has a long version explanation and a short one. The short one is as follows: A portion of the Armenian community was mislead by imperialist powers and fought for separation. The Ottoman government was angered and took decision for relocation. This relocation was carried under the difficult conditions prevailing at that time. The exiles were carried in various manners, and helpless people, children suffered and died. These deaths were because of epidemics and hunger.

There was no organized killing made by Ottoman soldiers.

The deaths out of the epidemics are separate individual cases, and were done by the robbers in the region, to get hold of the gold in possession of the people being marched. It is a matter of debate if the Ottoman army fighting on several fronts, had enough soldiers to avoid the murders during the marches. Under the circumstances and given the fact that Armenians living in the western parts of the country never had such sufferings, this cannot be called a genocide. You can give other names, but none can be named “genocide”.

Furthermore, the number of 1.5 million does not signify the number of deaths, but the number of losses. We Turkish Armenians know pretty well that Anatolia is full of Armenians who became Muslim, during or after these incidents. These people, when they became free later, did not return to their own religion and since they hide their past, they were put in the column of those lost. This is the short explanation.

If one has to speak, we can speak and tell them the long version of the incidents. There can be no other historians better than us!. As regards the French, they should chew musty cheese.

Sevan İnce

(Note: This letter was published in Taraf Newspaper on 26/1/2009 and in Star Newspaper in Aziz Ustel's column. This is a translation of the original letter from Turkish.)