|
Armenian condition during government of
Young Turks
When Young Turks assumed the head of empire
affairs, the economical condition of the empire was declining, but the
European governments, and this time with Germany at the head, still had a
tendency to capitalize on Turkey. The Ottoman government established the
railway of Baghdad to Constantinople by the help of Germany. Germany's
penetration of the empire spread more and more every day; this resulted in
Ottoman participation in World War 1, fighting against the allied forces
alongside Germany and Austria.
The hostility of this new government to Armenians was quite similar to the
treatments of Sultan Abdul Hamid and practically nothing had been changed.
The massacre of Adana occurred at the beginning of the rule of the Young
Turks. The conditions of Armenian lives were so deplorable, hard, and
intolerable that the European governments interfered again and in the
February of 1914 presented a plan to the Ottoman government that required it
to make some reforms in the six Armenian provinces. These reforms included
freedom to teach Armenian in schools, controlling the aggressive Hamidian
units, etc. . Two foreign supervisors, one from the Netherlands and one from
Norway, were sent to Ottoman in order to control and supervise the carrying
out of reforms. This made Armenians on the one hand happy but on the other
hand afraid. They were happy because they could live more safely and
comfortably but they were frightened because every time the European powers
interfered in Turkey to the benefit of Armenians, the hatred of Turks
increased against Armenians and mass murders began for vengeance.
At last when the drum of war began to beat, the two foreign inspectors
mentioned above, who had missions in Anatolia and Armenian provinces, were
sent out by the Ottoman government. The government stopped the reforms
immediately in order to use the opportunity to solve the Armenian question
forever.
|
