How it all have begun:From the words of first Prime minister of Armenia

How it all began:From the words of first Prime minister of Armenia:


[italic]The Manifesto of Hovhannes Katchaznouni, First Prime Minister of the Independant Armenian Republic

Translated from the Original by Matthew A. Callender
Edited by John Roy Carlson (Arthur A. Derounian)
Published by the
Armenian Information Service
Suite 7D, 471 Park Ave.
New York 22
1955


During its two-and-a-half years of existence, the independent Armenian Republic had four prime ministers and seven cabinets. Hovhannes Katchaznouni was the Premier of the First Cabinet, in which A. Manoogian served as the Minister of the Interior, A. Khatissian the Minister of Foreign Affairs, A. Hakhverdian the Minister of War and K. Gardjigian the Minister of Finance.

Katchaznouni had given « deliberate and serious consideration » (p. 4) to the matters that he discussed at the Convention. He asked the party members to « approach the matters with an open mind. » In an attempt to give a concise commentary from the beginning of the First World War to the Lausanne Conference, he formulated the initial attitude of the Armenian bands in the following words :

« At the beginning of the Fall of 1914 when Turkey had not yet entered the war but had already been making preparations, Armenian revolutionary bands began to be formed in Transcaucasia with great enthusiasm and, with especially, much uproar. Contrary to the decision taken during their general meeting at Erzurum only a few weeks before, the A.R.F. had [actively participated] in the formation of the bands and their future military action against Turkey.

« In an undertaking of such gravity, fraught with most serious consequences, individual agents of the Transcaucasian A.R.F. acted against the wiIl of our superior authority, against the will of the General Meeting of the Party... In the Fall of 1914 Armenian volunteer bands organized themselves and fought against the Turks because they could not refrain… from organizing and… fighting. This was (in) [sic.] an inevitable result of a psychology on which the Armenian people had nourished itself during an entire generation : that mentality should have found its expression, and did so. » (p. 5)

...The Armenians had embraced Russia whole heartedly...Katchaznouni says that they had « overestimated the ability of the Armenian people. » This is, of course, in the sense of « political and military power... the extent and importance of the services [the Armenians] rendered to the Russians. » He adds : « And by overestimating our very modest worth and merit we were naturally exaggerating our hopes and expectations. » He admits that the cause of the Dashnags was « an incidental and trivial phase for the Russians. » (p. 7) They had drawn such conclusions as though the Armenian issue was « the center of gravity of the Great War, its cause and purpose. » He declares : « When the Russians were advancing, we used to say from the depths of our subconscious mind that they were coming to save us. »

Katchaznouni also asserts, however, that one of the main aspects of what he calls Armenian « national psychology... [is] to seek external causes for [Armenian ] misfortune. » He says : « One might think we found a spiritual consolation in the conviction that the Russians behaved villainously towards us (later it would be the turn of the French, the Americans, the British, the Georgians, Bolsheviks — the whole world — to be so blamed.) » (p. 8)[italic]

Remember the words of Raffi in great movie "ARARAT":

Raffi: "But Turkey wasn't at war with the Armenians. I mean, just like Germany wasn't at war with the Jews. They were citizens. They were expecting to be protected. That scene you just shot was based on an eyewitness account. Your character Jevdet Bey, the only reason they put him in Van was to carry out the complete extermination of the Armenian population in Van. There were telegrams, there were communicators... "

Sure. You are right Raffi!!!