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The '''Yalova Peninsula Massacres''' were a series of massacres and ethnic cleansing<ref name="Gingeras2009" /> during 1920–21, the majority of which occurred during March – May 1921. They were committed by local [[Greek people|Greek]] and [[Armenians|Armenian]] gangs and the invading Greek army<ref name="Gingeras2009" /><ref name="Toynbee 1970 283-284">{{cite book|last=Toynbee|first=Arnold Joseph|title=The Western Question in Greece and Turkey:A Study in the Contact of Civilizations|year=1970|publisher=H. Fertig, originally: University of California|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gTkbAAAAIAAJ&q=This+plan+is+being+carried+out+by+Greek+and+Armenian+bands,+++which+appear+to+operate+under+Greek+instructions+and+sometimes+++even+with+the+assistance+of+detachments+of+regular+troops.&dq=This+plan+is+being+carried+out+by+Greek+and+Armenian+bands,+++which+appear+to+operate+under+Greek+instructions+and+sometimes+++even+with+the+assistance+of+detachments+of+regular+troops.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WrCXUdrtMYTJOYa6gMgL&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw|quote=The full version can be found [http://louisville.edu/a-s/history/turks/WesternQuestion.pdf here (Online reports of Arnold Toynbee)]|quote=‘The members of the Commission consider that, in the part of the kazas of Yalova and Guemlek occupied by the Greek army, there is a systematic plan of destruction of Turkish villages and extinction of the Moslem population. This plan is being carried out by Greek and Armenian bands, which appear to operate under Greek instructions and sometimes even with the assistance of detachments of regular troops|pages=283–284}}</ref> against the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[Muslim]] population of the [[Gemlik]]-[[Yalova]] peninsula.<ref name="Toynbee 1970 283-284"/> Michael Smith adds that [[Circassians in Turkey|Circassian]] irregulars also took part in the massacres.<ref name="Circassian" /> However, this is not mentioned in the report of the commission nor by Toynbee. There were 27 villages burned and in [[Armutlu, Yalova|Armutlu]] women were systematically raped.<ref name=Gingeras2009 /> Approximately 5,500 were killed<ref name="McNeill 1989"/> or 6.000 had disappeared at Yalova where 16 villages had been burned.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The Ottoman and Turkish documents on massacres indicate that at least 9,100 Muslim Turks were killed.<ref name=":0" /> In one Ottoman inquiry of 177 survivors in Constantinople, the number of victims reported was very low (35), which is in line with Toynbee's descriptions that villagers fled after one to two murders.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gingeras|first=Ryan|title=Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912-1923|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191609794|page=28|url=http://books.google.gr/books?id=6DF4dNEjenIC&pg=PA28&dq=circassian+yalova&hl=el&sa=X&ei=-JOSUdeHJeyu4QTK4IDoCg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22In%20total%20only%20thirty-five%20were%20reported%20to%20have%20been%20killed%2C%20wounded%2C%20beaten%2C%20or%20missing.%20This%20is%20in%20line%20with%20the%20observations%20of%20Arnold%20Toynbee%2C%20who%20declared%20that%20one%20to%20two%20murders%20were%20sufficient%20to%20drive%20away%20the%20population%20of%20a%20village.%22&f=false|quote=In total only thirty-five were reported to have been killed, wounded, beaten, or missing. This is in line with the observations of Arnold Toynbee, who declared that one to two murders were sufficient to drive away the population of a village.}}</ref> The high death toll in the events convinced Toynbee that the Greeks were unfit to rule over Turks.<ref name="Doumanis 2012">{{cite book|last1=Doumanis|first1=Nicholas|title=Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and Its Destruction in Late-Ottoman Anatolia|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199547043|page=161|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=com&q=It+was+the+heavy+toll+on+civilian+lives+that+convinced+the+historian+Arnold+Toynbee%2C+acting+as&gws_rd=ssl|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> An Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,<ref group = lower-alpha>General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.</ref> and the representative of the [[Geneva]] International [[Red Cross]], |
The '''Yalova Peninsula Massacres''' were a series of massacres and ethnic cleansing<ref name="Gingeras2009" /> during 1920–21, the majority of which occurred during March – May 1921. They were committed by local [[Greek people|Greek]] and [[Armenians|Armenian]] gangs and the invading Greek army<ref name="Gingeras2009" /><ref name="Toynbee 1970 283-284">{{cite book|last=Toynbee|first=Arnold Joseph|title=The Western Question in Greece and Turkey:A Study in the Contact of Civilizations|year=1970|publisher=H. Fertig, originally: University of California|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gTkbAAAAIAAJ&q=This+plan+is+being+carried+out+by+Greek+and+Armenian+bands,+++which+appear+to+operate+under+Greek+instructions+and+sometimes+++even+with+the+assistance+of+detachments+of+regular+troops.&dq=This+plan+is+being+carried+out+by+Greek+and+Armenian+bands,+++which+appear+to+operate+under+Greek+instructions+and+sometimes+++even+with+the+assistance+of+detachments+of+regular+troops.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WrCXUdrtMYTJOYa6gMgL&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw|quote=The full version can be found [http://louisville.edu/a-s/history/turks/WesternQuestion.pdf here (Online reports of Arnold Toynbee)]|quote=‘The members of the Commission consider that, in the part of the kazas of Yalova and Guemlek occupied by the Greek army, there is a systematic plan of destruction of Turkish villages and extinction of the Moslem population. This plan is being carried out by Greek and Armenian bands, which appear to operate under Greek instructions and sometimes even with the assistance of detachments of regular troops|pages=283–284}}</ref> against the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[Muslim]] population of the [[Gemlik]]-[[Yalova]] peninsula.<ref name="Toynbee 1970 283-284"/> Michael Smith adds that [[Circassians in Turkey|Circassian]] irregulars also took part in the massacres.<ref name="Circassian" /> However, this is not mentioned in the report of the commission nor by Toynbee. There were 27 villages burned and in [[Armutlu, Yalova|Armutlu]] women were systematically raped.<ref name=Gingeras2009 /> Approximately 5,500 were killed<ref name="McNeill 1989"/> or 6.000 had disappeared at Yalova where 16 villages had been burned.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The Ottoman and Turkish documents on massacres indicate that at least 9,100 Muslim Turks were killed.<ref name=":0" /> In one Ottoman inquiry of 177 survivors in Constantinople, the number of victims reported was very low (35), which is in line with Toynbee's descriptions that villagers fled after one to two murders.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gingeras|first=Ryan|title=Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912-1923|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191609794|page=28|url=http://books.google.gr/books?id=6DF4dNEjenIC&pg=PA28&dq=circassian+yalova&hl=el&sa=X&ei=-JOSUdeHJeyu4QTK4IDoCg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22In%20total%20only%20thirty-five%20were%20reported%20to%20have%20been%20killed%2C%20wounded%2C%20beaten%2C%20or%20missing.%20This%20is%20in%20line%20with%20the%20observations%20of%20Arnold%20Toynbee%2C%20who%20declared%20that%20one%20to%20two%20murders%20were%20sufficient%20to%20drive%20away%20the%20population%20of%20a%20village.%22&f=false|quote=In total only thirty-five were reported to have been killed, wounded, beaten, or missing. This is in line with the observations of Arnold Toynbee, who declared that one to two murders were sufficient to drive away the population of a village.}}</ref> The high death toll in the events convinced Toynbee that the Greeks were unfit to rule over Turks.<ref name="Doumanis 2012">{{cite book|last1=Doumanis|first1=Nicholas|title=Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and Its Destruction in Late-Ottoman Anatolia|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199547043|page=161|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=com&q=It+was+the+heavy+toll+on+civilian+lives+that+convinced+the+historian+Arnold+Toynbee%2C+acting+as&gws_rd=ssl|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> An Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,<ref group = lower-alpha>General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.</ref> and headed by [[Maurice Gehri]], the representative of the [[Geneva]] International [[Red Cross]], the journalist [[Arnold J. Toynbee]] went to the region to investigate the atrocities. One of the result was that refugees were transported to [[Istanbul]] on ships.<ref name="McNeill 1989" /> |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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===Events between August 1920 and March 1921=== |
===Events between August 1920 and March 1921=== |
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[[File:Map of the Samanli-Dag peninsula.png|thumbnail|Map of the affected areas.]] |
[[File:Map of the Samanli-Dag peninsula.png|thumbnail|Map of the affected areas.]] |
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After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the [[WWI]] the peninsula was occupied by [[Great Britain]]. At the end of 1920 control of the region was ceded to Greek troops. The advance of the Greek forces in June–July 1920 eastwards, outside of the 'Smyrna zone', brought an inter ethnic conflict in the Izmit district<ref name=Smith209>Smith, 1999: p. 209</ref> between Turkish and Greek regulars and some Circassian mercenaries,<ref name=Gingeras>{{cite book|last=Gingeras|first=Ryan|title=Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923|publisher=Oxford Studies in Modern European History|isbn=019160979X|pages=118–125|url=http://books.google.de/books?id=6DF4dNEjenIC&pg=PA209&dq=1920+yalova+circassians&hl=el&sa=X&ei=sHiRUeHCH8bgtQa6sIDAAg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=1920%20circassians&f=false}}</ref> the latter acting in a subordinate role according to Toynbee.<ref name="louisville.edu">{{cite web|url=http://louisville.edu/a-s/history/turks/WesternQuestion.pdf |title=The Western Question in Greece and Turkey |publisher=Louisville.edu |accessdate=2013-09-07}}</ref> Turkish irregulars responded by excoriating Christian villages in the [[Iznik]] region, east of Yalova and outside the area controlled by the Greek forces.<ref name=Smith209/> In the nearby city of Iznik, some 539 Greeks, 20 Armenians and 18 Jews were killed on 15 August 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://graduateinstitute.ch/webdav/site/alumni/shared/news/2011/2011_11_09_news/art_complement.pdf|accessdate=12 June 2014|title= D. Rodogno, Lat Cite, 28 October 2011}}</ref>Greek and Armenian survivors from deportations of World War I who had returned to their villages were also subject of atrocities, massacres and village burnings by Turkish gangs. Most of these atrocities happened in villages east of lake Iznik.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /> The documents in the Ottoman archives accuse the Christian emigres of committing the same atrocities and this agreed by the western allied report.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" />.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /> During the battles in spring 1920 between Turkish and Greek forces, the Greek advance failed.<ref name=Smith209/> |
After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the [[WWI]] the peninsula was occupied by [[Great Britain]]. At the end of 1920 control of the region was ceded to Greek troops. The advance of the Greek forces in June–July 1920 eastwards, outside of the 'Smyrna zone', brought an inter ethnic conflict in the Izmit district<ref name=Smith209>Smith, 1999: p. 209</ref> between Turkish and Greek regulars and some Circassian mercenaries,<ref name=Gingeras>{{cite book|last=Gingeras|first=Ryan|title=Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923|publisher=Oxford Studies in Modern European History|isbn=019160979X|pages=118–125|url=http://books.google.de/books?id=6DF4dNEjenIC&pg=PA209&dq=1920+yalova+circassians&hl=el&sa=X&ei=sHiRUeHCH8bgtQa6sIDAAg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=1920%20circassians&f=false}}</ref> the latter acting in a subordinate role according to Toynbee.<ref name="louisville.edu">{{cite web|url=http://louisville.edu/a-s/history/turks/WesternQuestion.pdf |title=The Western Question in Greece and Turkey |publisher=Louisville.edu |accessdate=2013-09-07}}</ref> Turkish irregulars responded by excoriating Christian villages in the [[Iznik]] region, east of Yalova and outside the area controlled by the Greek forces.<ref name=Smith209/> In the nearby city of Iznik, some 539 Greeks, 20 Armenians and 18 Jews were killed on 15 August 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://graduateinstitute.ch/webdav/site/alumni/shared/news/2011/2011_11_09_news/art_complement.pdf|accessdate=12 June 2014|title= D. Rodogno, Lat Cite, 28 October 2011}}</ref>Greek and Armenian survivors from deportations of World War I who had returned to their villages were also subject of atrocities, massacres and village burnings by Turkish gangs. Most of these atrocities happened in villages east of lake Iznik.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /> The documents in the Ottoman archives accuse the Christian emigres of committing the same atrocities and this is agreed by the western allied report.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" />.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /> During the battles in spring 1920 between Turkish and Greek forces, the Greek advance failed.<ref name=Smith209/> |
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Ever since summer 1920 the Greek forces held an extensive and largely Muslim area, in which groups of nationalist Turks engaged in espionage along with the Turkish Kuvay-i Milliye bands operating against the Greek lines of communication.<ref name=Smith209/> In the aftermath of the Greek failure, Greek troops took vengeance on Turkish villages which they suspected of harboring anti-Greek activity and in search of hidden weapons.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /> The Ottoman documents indicate that the local Turkish villages were disarmed and so became easy prey to the local Greek/Armenian gangs to plundered them.<ref name=Gingeras2009 /><ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /> |
Ever since summer 1920 the Greek forces held an extensive and largely Muslim area, in which groups of nationalist Turks engaged in espionage along with the Turkish Kuvay-i Milliye bands operating against the Greek lines of communication.<ref name=Smith209/> In the aftermath of the Greek failure, Greek troops took vengeance on Turkish villages which they suspected of harboring anti-Greek activity and in search of hidden weapons.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /> The Ottoman documents indicate that the local Turkish villages were disarmed and so became easy prey to the local Greek/Armenian gangs to plundered them.<ref name=Gingeras2009 /><ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /> |
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Following the Greek occupation complaints were made by the local Turkish population to the Ottoman and Allied authorities against Greek atrocities but apparently without much effect. In a report from the Ottoman [[gendarmerie]] of [[Balikesir]] region to the gendarmerie headquarters it was stated that since the Greek occupation (August 1920) the Turkish population was subjected to cases of killings, torture, rape and theft.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /><ref name="Gingeras2009" /> The weapons of the Muslim population were collected and handed over to the local Greeks and Armenians. According to Ottoman archive documents, the villages of Dutluca (7 September 1920), Bayırköy and Paşayayla in the region of Orhangazi were burned and the population massacred.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission">{{cite book|title=ARŞİV BELGELERİNE GÖRE BALKANLAR’DA VE ANADOLU’DA YUNAN MEZÂLİMİ|date=1996|publisher=T.C. BAŞBAKANLIK DEVLET ARŞİVLERİ GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı|location=Ankara|isbn=9751910560|quote=Yalova’ya bağlı Çınarcık köyünde halkın camiye doldurulup kamçı ve sopayla dövüldüğü, paralarının alındığı, bu sırada birkaç kişinin öldüğü...Çınarcık village tortured in mosque...Orhangazi’ye bağlı Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy köylerinin yakılıp ahalisinin öldürüldüğü,... Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy burned and massacred...Yalova’nın köyler ve diğer |
Following the Greek occupation complaints were made by the local Turkish population to the Ottoman and Allied authorities against Greek atrocities but apparently without much effect. In a report from the Ottoman [[gendarmerie]] of [[Balikesir]] region to the gendarmerie headquarters it was stated that since the Greek occupation (August 1920) the Turkish population was subjected to cases of killings, torture, rape and theft.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /><ref name="Gingeras2009" /> The weapons of the Muslim population were collected and handed over to the local Greeks and Armenians. According to Ottoman archive documents, the villages of [[Dutluca, Orhangazi |Dutluca]] (7 September 1920), [[Bayırköy, Orhangazi |Bayırköy]] and [[Paşayayla, Yenişehir|Paşayayla]]] in the region of Orhangazi were burned and the population massacred.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission">{{cite book|title=ARŞİV BELGELERİNE GÖRE BALKANLAR’DA VE ANADOLU’DA YUNAN MEZÂLİMİ|date=1996|publisher=T.C. BAŞBAKANLIK DEVLET ARŞİVLERİ GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı|location=Ankara|isbn=9751910560|quote=Yalova’ya bağlı Çınarcık köyünde halkın camiye doldurulup kamçı ve sopayla dövüldüğü, paralarının alındığı, bu sırada birkaç kişinin öldüğü...Çınarcık village tortured in mosque...Orhangazi’ye bağlı Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy köylerinin yakılıp ahalisinin öldürüldüğü,... Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy burned and massacred...Yalova’nın köyler ve diğer |
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yerlerle irtibatını kestikleri, bütün silahları toplayıp, ekmek bıçaklarının dahi uçlarını kırarak, halkı her türlü müdafaa aletinden yoksun bıraktıkları, buna karşılık Hıristiyanları silahlandırıp faciaya zemin hazırladıkları...Weapons of Muslims, even small knifes collected, were left defenseless, villages isolated, Christians were armed.|pages=103-112-167-171-188-203-234|url=http://www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr/assets/content/Yayinlar/osmanli-arsivi-yayinlar/030-yunan.pdf|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> In the Yalova area, the village of Çınarcık was looted and locals mistreated, some killed.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /><ref name="Sofuoğlu" /> |
yerlerle irtibatını kestikleri, bütün silahları toplayıp, ekmek bıçaklarının dahi uçlarını kırarak, halkı her türlü müdafaa aletinden yoksun bıraktıkları, buna karşılık Hıristiyanları silahlandırıp faciaya zemin hazırladıkları...Weapons of Muslims, even small knifes collected, were left defenseless, villages isolated, Christians were armed.|pages=103-112-167-171-188-203-234|url=http://www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr/assets/content/Yayinlar/osmanli-arsivi-yayinlar/030-yunan.pdf|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> In the Yalova area, the village of [[Çınarcık]] was looted and locals mistreated, some killed.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /><ref name="Sofuoğlu" /> |
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The Greek army captured [[Orhangazi]] on 16 October 1921 after resistance by Turkish militias. The next day there was a massacre in the nearby Turkish village of Çakırlı, |
The Greek army captured [[Orhangazi]] on 16 October 1921 after resistance by Turkish militias. The next day there was a massacre in the nearby Turkish village of [[Çakırlı, Orhangazi |Çakırlı]], men were locked in the local mosque where they were burned alive and shot.<ref name="Osmanlı Arşivi-Turkish Ottoman archive commission" /><ref name="Sofuoğlu">{{cite book|last1=Sofuoğlu|first1=Adnan|title=KURTULUŞ SAVAŞI DÖNEMİNDE KOCAELİ - YALOVA – İZNİK|publisher=Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi|quote=Bu esnada Orhangazi’den yedi, Çakırlı Köyünden yirmi kişi kurşuna dizilerek öldürüldü. Üreyil ve Çakırlı köyleri halkı feci bir şekilde toptan katl ve idam edildi. Malları ise yağmalandı...In the meantime, seven in Orhangazi, and twenty people in Çakırlı were shot dead. In Üreyil and the village of Çakırlı wholesale murder was executed in a catastrophic way. their goods had been looted...Orhangazi civarında (Ureyil ve Çakırlı) İslam karyelerindeki silahlar toplanarak ahalisi feci bir surette kâmilen katl ve idam edilerek malları yağma ve haneleri ihrak olunmuştur...Near Orhangazi the Muslim villages of (Üreğil and Çakırlı) weapons of the local people were collected, and tragic murders,executions, looting took place and their houses were burned. |pages=795-796-797-798-799-800-801-802-803-804-805-806-807-808-809-810-811-812-813-814|edition=XVIII, 54|url=http://www.ait.hacettepe.edu.tr/akademik/arsiv/adnan2.htm|accessdate=12 June 2014}}</ref> Two days later on 18 October 1921 the nearby Turkish village of [[Üreğil, Orhangazi|Üreğil]] (consisted of 90 families) was burned down.<ref name="Sofuoğlu"/> On 16 April, the some 1,000 Turkish inhabitants of Orhangazi were sent to Gemlik by the Greek army while the town was partially burned down<ref name="Gingeras2009" /> the same day by the Greeks. The refugees reached Gemlik under very difficult circumstances, most were robbed and some killed on the way.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> They were later evacuated by the Allied commission to Istanbul by boat. The next day on 17 April, there was a massacre<ref name="Sofuoğlu"/> in the village of [[Gedelek, Orhangazi|Gedelek]] which was burned<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The Ottoman gendarmerie reported the attack on the village of Ali Al Sabah. On 10 May 1921 the village was looted by Christian paramilitaries and the women were raped.<ref name=Gingeras2009 /> |
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===Investigation of the Allied commission (13–23 May 1921)=== |
===Investigation of the Allied commission (13–23 May 1921)=== |
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[[File:Old man murdered Narli village.png|150px|thumbnail|left|Murdered old man in Narli village.]] |
[[File:Old man murdered Narli village.png|150px|thumbnail|left|Murdered old man in Narli village.]] |
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[[File:English warship Bryony in Constantinople.png|150px|thumbnail|right|The British warship Bryony which transported the commission.]] |
[[File:English warship Bryony in Constantinople.png|150px|thumbnail|right|The British warship Bryony which transported the commission.]] |
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Finally in May 1921, a Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,<ref group = lower-alpha>General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.</ref> and the representative of the [[Geneva]] International [[Red Cross]], Maurice Gehri, was set up to investigate the situation. They sailed with the ship "Bryony" and reached Gemlik on 12 May.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On 13 May 1921 the commission started on his investigation by visiting the burned villages of Çertekici, Çengiler and Gedelek. In Çertekici they found 4 Greek soldiers committing arson to remaining buildings. Then they returned to Gemlik.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> Here they listened to the Turkish refugees who had gathered there, most of them were from Orhangazi which was burnt by the Greek army one month before, on 16 April.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The refugees complained that they had been robbed on the way to Gemlik by |
Finally in May 1921, a Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,<ref group = lower-alpha>General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.</ref> and the representative of the [[Geneva]] International [[Red Cross]], Maurice Gehri, was set up to investigate the situation. They sailed with the ship "Bryony" and reached Gemlik on 12 May.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On 13 May 1921 the commission started on his investigation by visiting the burned villages of Çertekici, Çengiler (Armenian village burned by Turks) and Gedelek. In Çertekici they found 4 Greek soldiers committing arson to remaining buildings. Then they returned to Gemlik.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> Here they listened to the Turkish refugees who had gathered there, most of them were from Orhangazi which was burnt by the Greek army one month before, on 16 April.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The refugees complained that they had been robbed on the way to Gemlik by Greeks and Armenians.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The commission listened to various cases; including the rape and torture of a sixty years old women by six Greek soldiers.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> |
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The commission listened to the Turkish refugees from Orhangazi.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On 14 May the commission listened to the cases of the Greek and Armenian refugees.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On Sunday 15 May the commission found out that the Turkish villages of Kapaklı, Narlı and Karacaali where burning, the same evening they went by the boat ''Bryony'' to the shore of Karacaali and found on the beach the corpses of 11 Turks who had been killed several hours before with bayonets.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The next day they went to Kapaklı, where they found 8 bodies, 4 of them women. They listened to the people in Karacaali who declared that 40 women had been taken away by the Greeks.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> |
The commission listened to the Turkish refugees from Orhangazi.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On 14 May the commission listened to the cases of the Greek and Armenian refugees.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> On Sunday 15 May the commission found out that the Turkish villages of [[Kapaklı, Armutlu |Kapaklı]], [[Narlı, Gemlik |Narlı]] and [[Karacaali, Gemlik|Karacaali]] where burning, the same evening they went by the boat ''Bryony'' to the shore of Karacaali and found on the beach the corpses of 11 Turks who had been killed several hours before with bayonets.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The next day they went to Kapaklı, where they found 8 bodies, 4 of them women. They listened to the people in Karacaali who declared that 40 women had been taken away by the Greeks.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> |
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On 16 May the commission went to the village of Küçük Kumla, the local Turkish population was hiding in their houses out of fear, but when they realized it was the Allied commission a group of 1,000 villagers gathered around them. They told that the situation was terrible since one month and that last Thursday a group of 60–65 Greek soldiers accompanied by 40 Greek civilians came to the village and killed three men and one woman.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The day before another Greek group had killed 8–9 people.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /><ref name="Current history and forum" /> Later that day the commission went to the village of Kapaklı which had been burning for three days. They found 8 bodies under the rubble, 4 of them women. <ref name="Current history and forum" />The survivors told the commission that Greek soldiers were responsible.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> Then the commission investigated the village of Narlı, which had been burned down<ref name="Current history and forum" /> and was still burning. The commission found similar cases in the area around Yalova where 16 Muslim villages had been burned down.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> They landed there on 21 May and after investigation, found the twin villages of Kocadere destroyed, returned to Constantinople on 22 May.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula">{{cite book|title=Reports on atrocities in the districts of Yalova and Guemlek and in the Ismid Peninsula|date=1921|pages=1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11|url=https://archive.org/stream/reportsonatrocit00interich#page/8/mode/2up|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> |
On 16 May the commission went to the village of Küçük Kumla, the local Turkish population was hiding in their houses out of fear, but when they realized it was the Allied commission a group of 1,000 villagers gathered around them. They told that the situation was terrible since one month and that last Thursday a group of 60–65 Greek soldiers accompanied by 40 Greek civilians came to the village and killed three men and one woman.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> The day before another Greek group had killed 8–9 people.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula" /><ref name="Current history and forum" /> Later that day the commission went to the village of Kapaklı which had been burning for three days. They found 8 bodies under the rubble, 4 of them women. <ref name="Current history and forum" />The survivors told the commission that Greek soldiers were responsible.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> Then the commission investigated the village of Narlı, which had been burned down<ref name="Current history and forum" /> and was still burning. The commission found similar cases in the area around Yalova where 16 Muslim villages had been burned down.<ref name="Current history and forum" /> They landed there on 21 May and after investigation, found the twin villages of [[Kocadere, Çınarcık |Kocadere]] destroyed, returned to Constantinople on 22 May.<ref name="Reports on atrocities in the Ismid Peninsula">{{cite book|title=Reports on atrocities in the districts of Yalova and Guemlek and in the Ismid Peninsula|date=1921|pages=1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11|url=https://archive.org/stream/reportsonatrocit00interich#page/8/mode/2up|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> |
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===Transport of the refugees=== |
===Transport of the refugees=== |
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Line 104: | Line 104: | ||
===Legacy=== |
===Legacy=== |
||
The village of Kocadere<ref name="Kocadere monument">{{cite web|title=KOCADERE ŞEHİTLERİ ANILDI (Victims of Kocadere were commemorated)|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/kocadere-sehitleri-anildi-yalova-yerelhaber-171574/|website=http://www.milliyet.com.tr|publisher=(Turkish newspaper) Milliyet|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> and Akköy<ref name='"Akköy Şehitleri"'>{{cite web|title="Akköy Şehitleri" Anıldı (Victims of Akköy commemorated)|quote=commemoration of the 60 murdered victims|url=http://www.haberler.com/akkoy-sehitleri-anildi-5010566-haberi/|website=(Turkish) http://www.haberler.com|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> commemorate each year their victims at their respective local monument. Turkish writer [[Mehmet Ballı]] is the author of the historical roman ''Engere'' focusing on the events.<ref name="Mehmet Ballı">{{cite web|title=(Turkish) İETT`li Mehmet Ballı, `Engere` ile tarihe not düştü|url=http://www.iett.gov.tr/tr/main/news/iettli-mehmet-balli-engere-ile-tarihe-not-dus/887|website=http://www.iett.gov.tr|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> |
The village of [[Kocadere, Çınarcık |Kocadere]]<ref name="Kocadere monument">{{cite web|title=KOCADERE ŞEHİTLERİ ANILDI (Victims of Kocadere were commemorated)|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/kocadere-sehitleri-anildi-yalova-yerelhaber-171574/|website=http://www.milliyet.com.tr|publisher=(Turkish newspaper) Milliyet|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> and [[Akköy, Termal |Akköy]]<ref name='"Akköy Şehitleri"'>{{cite web|title="Akköy Şehitleri" Anıldı (Victims of Akköy commemorated)|quote=commemoration of the 60 murdered victims|url=http://www.haberler.com/akkoy-sehitleri-anildi-5010566-haberi/|website=(Turkish) http://www.haberler.com|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> commemorate each year their victims at their respective local monument. Turkish writer [[Mehmet Ballı]] is the author of the historical roman ''Engere'' focusing on the events.<ref name="Mehmet Ballı">{{cite web|title=(Turkish) İETT`li Mehmet Ballı, `Engere` ile tarihe not düştü|url=http://www.iett.gov.tr/tr/main/news/iettli-mehmet-balli-engere-ile-tarihe-not-dus/887|website=http://www.iett.gov.tr|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> |
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==Tables== |
==Tables== |
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Line 123: | Line 123: | ||
| Teşvîkiye|| 430|| Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
| Teşvîkiye|| 430|| Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Kocadere-i Bâlâ|| 350 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
| [[Kocadere, Çınarcık |Kocadere-i Bâlâ]]|| 350 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Kocadere-i Zîr|| 550 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
| [[Kocadere, Çınarcık| Kocadere-i Zîr]]|| 550 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| [[Çınarcık]]|| 550|| Massacred and plundered, only 20 people survived. |
| [[Çınarcık]]|| 550|| Massacred and plundered, only 20 people survived. |
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Line 131: | Line 131: | ||
| Çalıca|| 120 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
| Çalıca|| 120 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| |
| Kurtköy || 400 || Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Ortaburun|| 150 || Village founded and populated by [[Chveneburi|Muslim Georgians]] and [[Laz people|Lazes]] from [[Batumi]] (1893).<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=ortaburun&t=Yalova&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=29 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref><ref name="Governorship of Yalova">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Yalova Valiliği|url=http://www.yalova.gov.tr/default_B0.aspx?content=1037|work=İlçeler, Çınarcık, Köyler|accessdate=29 May 2014}}</ref> Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
| [[Ortaburun, Çınarcık|Ortaburun]]|| 150 || Village founded and populated by [[Chveneburi|Muslim Georgians]] and [[Laz people|Lazes]] from [[Batumi]] (1893).<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=ortaburun&t=Yalova&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=29 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref><ref name="Governorship of Yalova">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Yalova Valiliği|url=http://www.yalova.gov.tr/default_B0.aspx?content=1037|work=İlçeler, Çınarcık, Köyler|accessdate=29 May 2014}}</ref> Population was massacred, buildings were burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
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| Günlük[Güllük]|| 200 || Burned, population fled, two people were killed. |
| Günlük[Güllük]|| 200 || Burned, population fled, two people were killed. |
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Line 169: | Line 169: | ||
| [[Fıstıklı, Armutlu|Fıstıklı]]|| 550 || Population fled, village was plundered. |
| [[Fıstıklı, Armutlu|Fıstıklı]]|| 550 || Population fled, village was plundered. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Karacaali || 650 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
| [[Karacaali, Gemlik|Karacaali]] || 650 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Mecidiye || 200 || Village founded and populated by [[Chveneburi|Muslim Georgians]] and [[Laz people|Lazes]].<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=ortaburun&t=Yalova&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=29 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref> Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
| [[Mecidiye, Armutlu |Mecidiye]] || 200 || Village founded and populated by [[Chveneburi|Muslim Georgians]] and [[Laz people|Lazes]].<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=ortaburun&t=Yalova&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=29 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref> Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
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|- |
|- |
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| Selimiye || 700 || Totally burned, population was massacred. |
| [[Selimiye, Armutlu|Selimiye]] || 700 || Totally burned, population was massacred. |
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|- |
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| Lütfiye|| 100 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
| Lütfiye|| 100 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
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|- |
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| Hayriye || 250 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
| [[Hayriye, Armutlu|Hayriye]] || 250 || Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
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|- |
|- |
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| Haydariye || 250 || A [[Chveneburi|Georgian]] village.<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=haydariye&t=&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=31 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref> Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
| Haydariye || 250 || A [[Chveneburi|Georgian]] village.<ref name="Index Anatolicus">{{tr icon}} {{cite web|title=Index Anatolicus|url=http://www.nisanyanmap.com/?y=haydariye&t=&lv=1&u=1&ua=0|work=Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri|accessdate=31 May 2014|author=Sevan Nisanyan|format=Map}}</ref> Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. |
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Line 208: | Line 208: | ||
| Çalıca|| 40–50 || all |
| Çalıca|| 40–50 || all |
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|- |
|- |
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| Kurtköy || 100 || all |
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|- |
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| Ortaburun|| 40 || all |
| Ortaburun|| 40 || all |
Revision as of 15:11, 15 June 2014
Yalova Peninsula Massacres | |
---|---|
Part of Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) | |
Location | Ottoman Empire, present-day Yalova and Bursa Province, Turkey |
Date | 1920–1921 |
Target | Turkish Muslim population (Muslim Georgians and Laz people were also targeted.) |
Attack type | Ethnic cleansing[1], mass murder |
Deaths | various estimates: 5,500 to 9,100 killed[2] or 6.000 had disappeared.[3][4] |
Perpetrators | Kingdom of Greece[5] Groups of local Greeks, Armenians and Circassians[5][6][7] |
The Yalova Peninsula Massacres were a series of massacres and ethnic cleansing[1] during 1920–21, the majority of which occurred during March – May 1921. They were committed by local Greek and Armenian gangs and the invading Greek army[1][5] against the Turkish Muslim population of the Gemlik-Yalova peninsula.[5] Michael Smith adds that Circassian irregulars also took part in the massacres.[7] However, this is not mentioned in the report of the commission nor by Toynbee. There were 27 villages burned and in Armutlu women were systematically raped.[1] Approximately 5,500 were killed[2] or 6.000 had disappeared at Yalova where 16 villages had been burned.[3] The Ottoman and Turkish documents on massacres indicate that at least 9,100 Muslim Turks were killed.[8] In one Ottoman inquiry of 177 survivors in Constantinople, the number of victims reported was very low (35), which is in line with Toynbee's descriptions that villagers fled after one to two murders.[9] The high death toll in the events convinced Toynbee that the Greeks were unfit to rule over Turks.[10] An Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,[a] and headed by Maurice Gehri, the representative of the Geneva International Red Cross, the journalist Arnold J. Toynbee went to the region to investigate the atrocities. One of the result was that refugees were transported to Istanbul on ships.[2]
Background
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
After World War I, the Ottoman Empire officially surrendered to the Entente Powers and it had to disband its army. At the peace conference the British and French tried to secure territory for the Kingdom of Greece in Smyrna and its surrounding regions.[11] As a result, the Greek army, with the support of the Entente Powers, invaded Anatolia and occupied Smyrna.[11] The Ottoman government[11] and Turkish nationalists, which included people from all layers of Turkish society ranging from soldiers to civilians,[11] under the command of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, resisted against this decision. The latter formed a new Turkish National Movement based in central Anatolia, whose aim was to repel the foreign forces that remained in Anatolia. On the other hand, the Greek army was given the task by the allies to end the Turkish Nationalist government. Following the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) the Greek army was defeated and forced to retreat.During its retreat (August–September 1922) the Greek army carried out a scorched-earth policy and laid waste to many Turkish cities and villages and committed massacres against its inhabitants.
Population
The peninsula's population before World War I included an ethnically diverse population including Muslims, Greeks and Armenians. The Kaza of Orhangazi was 34% Muslim in 1914, the rest were almost all Armenians.[1] The kaza of Yalova was only 36% Muslim in 1914, the rest were Greeks and Armenians. The Kaza of Gemlik was 57% Muslim but the town of Gemlik was almost entirely (90%) Greek by the time of the war.[1] Gemlik was surrounded by Greek, Armenian and Muslim Turkish villages. Most of the Armenians in the region were deported during the Armenian Genocide their villages burned, only a small part, several thousand survivors returned, some 2.000 were present at Gemlik in 1921.[12] In 1921 there were 3,500 Greek refugees in Gemlik, mostly from areas around Iznik where they had been subject to Turkish atrocities.[12]
Population table of 1914.
Distribution of population in the region before World War I in 1914[1] | ||||||||
Religion | Gemlik | Yalova | Orhangazi | Izmit | Iznik | Karamürsel | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Muslims | 16,373 | 7,954 | 11,884 | 40,403 | 13,785 | 14,850 | 105,249 | |
Greeks | 8,568 | 10,274 | N/A | 5,226 | 1,632 | 6,047 | 31,747 | |
Armenians | 3,348 | 3,304 | 22,726 | 23,873 | 126 | 2,635 | 56,012 | |
Others | N/A | N/A | 157 | 1,833 | N/A | N/A | 1,990 | |
Total | 28,289 | 21,532 | 33,767 | 71,335 | 15,543 | 23,532 | 194,998 |
According to Smith an additional factor that lead to violence was the return of the Greek refugees to their homes, after being driven out from the area by the Ottoman authorities during World War I.[13] On the other hand, thousands of Turkish refugees from the Balkan wars, who had occupied their homes in the meantime, were expulsed. This turn of event created a rural proletariat apt for brigandage and violence by irregular groups.[13] However according to the report of the Allied commission the events during World War I and the problems of the refugees were not the primary reason of the thorough destruction of numerous Turkish villages and towns in the Gemlik-Yalova Peninsula. They stated that the massacres and destruction was carried out according to a plan by the Greek army who also encouraged the local Greek and Armenians to participate.[12][14]
Massacres in 1920–21 in Gemlik-Yalova Peninsula
Events between August 1920 and March 1921
After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the WWI the peninsula was occupied by Great Britain. At the end of 1920 control of the region was ceded to Greek troops. The advance of the Greek forces in June–July 1920 eastwards, outside of the 'Smyrna zone', brought an inter ethnic conflict in the Izmit district[15] between Turkish and Greek regulars and some Circassian mercenaries,[16] the latter acting in a subordinate role according to Toynbee.[17] Turkish irregulars responded by excoriating Christian villages in the Iznik region, east of Yalova and outside the area controlled by the Greek forces.[15] In the nearby city of Iznik, some 539 Greeks, 20 Armenians and 18 Jews were killed on 15 August 1920.[18]Greek and Armenian survivors from deportations of World War I who had returned to their villages were also subject of atrocities, massacres and village burnings by Turkish gangs. Most of these atrocities happened in villages east of lake Iznik.[12] The documents in the Ottoman archives accuse the Christian emigres of committing the same atrocities and this is agreed by the western allied report.[12].[19] During the battles in spring 1920 between Turkish and Greek forces, the Greek advance failed.[15]
Ever since summer 1920 the Greek forces held an extensive and largely Muslim area, in which groups of nationalist Turks engaged in espionage along with the Turkish Kuvay-i Milliye bands operating against the Greek lines of communication.[15] In the aftermath of the Greek failure, Greek troops took vengeance on Turkish villages which they suspected of harboring anti-Greek activity and in search of hidden weapons.[12] The Ottoman documents indicate that the local Turkish villages were disarmed and so became easy prey to the local Greek/Armenian gangs to plundered them.[1][19]
Following the Greek occupation complaints were made by the local Turkish population to the Ottoman and Allied authorities against Greek atrocities but apparently without much effect. In a report from the Ottoman gendarmerie of Balikesir region to the gendarmerie headquarters it was stated that since the Greek occupation (August 1920) the Turkish population was subjected to cases of killings, torture, rape and theft.[19][1] The weapons of the Muslim population were collected and handed over to the local Greeks and Armenians. According to Ottoman archive documents, the villages of Dutluca (7 September 1920), Bayırköy and Paşayayla] in the region of Orhangazi were burned and the population massacred.[19] In the Yalova area, the village of Çınarcık was looted and locals mistreated, some killed.[19][20]
The Greek army captured Orhangazi on 16 October 1921 after resistance by Turkish militias. The next day there was a massacre in the nearby Turkish village of Çakırlı, men were locked in the local mosque where they were burned alive and shot.[19][20] Two days later on 18 October 1921 the nearby Turkish village of Üreğil (consisted of 90 families) was burned down.[20] On 16 April, the some 1,000 Turkish inhabitants of Orhangazi were sent to Gemlik by the Greek army while the town was partially burned down[1] the same day by the Greeks. The refugees reached Gemlik under very difficult circumstances, most were robbed and some killed on the way.[3] They were later evacuated by the Allied commission to Istanbul by boat. The next day on 17 April, there was a massacre[20] in the village of Gedelek which was burned[3] The Ottoman gendarmerie reported the attack on the village of Ali Al Sabah. On 10 May 1921 the village was looted by Christian paramilitaries and the women were raped.[1]
Investigation of the Allied commission (13–23 May 1921)
Finally in May 1921, a Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,[b] and the representative of the Geneva International Red Cross, Maurice Gehri, was set up to investigate the situation. They sailed with the ship "Bryony" and reached Gemlik on 12 May.[3] On 13 May 1921 the commission started on his investigation by visiting the burned villages of Çertekici, Çengiler (Armenian village burned by Turks) and Gedelek. In Çertekici they found 4 Greek soldiers committing arson to remaining buildings. Then they returned to Gemlik.[3] Here they listened to the Turkish refugees who had gathered there, most of them were from Orhangazi which was burnt by the Greek army one month before, on 16 April.[3] The refugees complained that they had been robbed on the way to Gemlik by Greeks and Armenians.[3] The commission listened to various cases; including the rape and torture of a sixty years old women by six Greek soldiers.[3]
The commission listened to the Turkish refugees from Orhangazi.[3] On 14 May the commission listened to the cases of the Greek and Armenian refugees.[3] On Sunday 15 May the commission found out that the Turkish villages of Kapaklı, Narlı and Karacaali where burning, the same evening they went by the boat Bryony to the shore of Karacaali and found on the beach the corpses of 11 Turks who had been killed several hours before with bayonets.[3] The next day they went to Kapaklı, where they found 8 bodies, 4 of them women. They listened to the people in Karacaali who declared that 40 women had been taken away by the Greeks.[3]
On 16 May the commission went to the village of Küçük Kumla, the local Turkish population was hiding in their houses out of fear, but when they realized it was the Allied commission a group of 1,000 villagers gathered around them. They told that the situation was terrible since one month and that last Thursday a group of 60–65 Greek soldiers accompanied by 40 Greek civilians came to the village and killed three men and one woman.[3] The day before another Greek group had killed 8–9 people.[12][3] Later that day the commission went to the village of Kapaklı which had been burning for three days. They found 8 bodies under the rubble, 4 of them women. [3]The survivors told the commission that Greek soldiers were responsible.[3] Then the commission investigated the village of Narlı, which had been burned down[3] and was still burning. The commission found similar cases in the area around Yalova where 16 Muslim villages had been burned down.[3] They landed there on 21 May and after investigation, found the twin villages of Kocadere destroyed, returned to Constantinople on 22 May.[12]
Transport of the refugees
It became clear to the commission that between March – May 1921 the population had been massacred or fled on a very large scale. Almost all villages and towns had been burned, while the survivors were crammed up in a few locations. First the villages were plundered and almost all of the villagers' livestock were taken away from them[5], then there was raping and killing and finally their houses were burned. Muslims were hiding in the mountains around Gemlik fearing to be killed.[12] To protect the Muslims of further atrocities, the allied commission decided to transport refugees with boats to Istanbul.[5] Muslims around Gemlik were evacuated in several parties to Constantinople.[12] But Greek officers insisted on retaining the able bodied men guaranteeing proper treatment, the commission accepted.[12] In the north, one small vessel carried 320 mostly women and children from Yalova to Constantinople.[2] The Greek commander tried to prevent their departure.[2] Later two more transports took place.[2]
Conclusion of the Allied commission
The Inter-Allied commission, consisting of British, French, American and Italian officers,[c] and the representative of the Geneva International Red Cross, Maurice Gehri, prepared two separate collaborative reports on their investigations in the Yalova-Gemlik Peninsula. These reports found that Greek forces committed systematic atrocities against the Turkish inhabitants.[21] And the commissioners mentioned the "burning and looting of Turkish villages", the "explosion of violence of Greeks and Armenians against the Turks", and "a systematic plan of destruction and extinction of the Moslem population".[22] In their report of the 23rd May 1921, the Inter-Allied commission stated as follows:[14]
A distinct and regular method appears to have been followed in the destruction of villages, group by group, for the last two months... there is a systematic plan of destruction of Turkish villages and extinction of the Muslim population. This plan is being carried out by Greek and Armenian bands, which appear to operate under Greek instructions and sometimes even with the assistance of detachments of regular troops.
According to Maurice Gehri the massacres in the Gemlik-Yalova Peninsula were a result of the defeat of the Greek army at the Battle of İnönü.[17]
"At the time of our investigation, the Peninsula of Samanli- Dagh [the Yalova-Gemlik Peninsula] was behind the Greek front, and it has never been a theatre of hostilities since the beginning of the Greek occupation. Until March last, the region was quiet. The crimes which have come to our knowledge fall within the last two months (end of March to the 15th May). They are subsequent to the retreat of the Greek army after the defeat of Eski Shehir [In Önü]. Possibly they are a consequence of it." – Maurice Gehri
The later famous historian Arnold J. Toynbee was active in the area as a war reporter, Toynbee stated that he and his wife were witnesses to the atrocities perpetrated by Greeks in the Yalova, Gemlik, and Izmit areas and they not only obtained abundant material evidence in the shape of "burnt and plundered houses, recent corpses, and terror stricken survivors" but also witnessed robbery by Greek civilians and arsons by Greek soldiers in uniform in the act of perpetration.[23]
Legacy
The village of Kocadere[24] and Akköy[25] commemorate each year their victims at their respective local monument. Turkish writer Mehmet Ballı is the author of the historical roman Engere focusing on the events.[26]
Tables
Burned villages according to Ottoman archives
List of atrocities at the villages, according to Ottoman documents[8] page 234-235 | |||||||
Villages | Number of inhabitants | Notes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teşvîkiye | 430 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Kocadere-i Bâlâ | 350 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Kocadere-i Zîr | 550 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Çınarcık | 550 | Massacred and plundered, only 20 people survived. | |||||
Çalıca | 120 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Kurtköy | 400 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Ortaburun | 150 | Village founded and populated by Muslim Georgians and Lazes from Batumi (1893).[27][28] Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Günlük[Güllük] | 200 | Burned, population fled, two people were killed. | |||||
Gökçedere | 100 | Majority of buildings were plundered and burned. | |||||
Üvezpınar | 150 | A Laz village.[27] Burned, population partly massacred, partly fled. | |||||
Paşaköy | 350 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Solucak [Soğucak] | 200 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Kirazlı | 250 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Yortan | 250 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Dereköy | 250 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Akköy | 550 | Majority of the population was massacred. | |||||
Samanlı | 150 | Population was massacred, buildings were burned. | |||||
Resadiye | 1250 | Totally burned, population was massacred. | |||||
Esediye | 250 | Totally burned, population was massacred. | |||||
Çakırlı | 550 | Totally burned, population was massacred. | |||||
Üreğil | 700 | Totally burned, population was massacred. | |||||
Cihanköy | 250 | Population fled, village was plundered. | |||||
Dutluca | 850 | Large scale massacres, buildings were burned. | |||||
Fıstıklı | 550 | Population fled, village was plundered. | |||||
Karacaali | 650 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Mecidiye | 200 | Village founded and populated by Muslim Georgians and Lazes.[27] Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Selimiye | 700 | Totally burned, population was massacred. | |||||
Lütfiye | 100 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Hayriye | 250 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Haydariye | 250 | A Georgian village.[27] Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Ihsâniye | 100 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Küçükkumla | 150 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Sultaniye | 100 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Büyükkumla | 620 | Population partly massacred, village plundered and burned. | |||||
Total Population: | 12,430 | Total Massacred: >9,143 |
Burned villages around Yalova according to Toynbee
List of villages destroyed in the Yalova district during April and May 1921, according to Arnold Toynbee[17] | |||||||
Name of villages | Original number of houses | Number of houses burned | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Çalıca | 40–50 | all | |||||
Kurtköy | 100 | all | |||||
Ortaburun | 40 | all | |||||
Güllük | 50–60 | all | |||||
Gökçedere | 30–40 | all | |||||
Üvezpınar | 50–60 | all | |||||
Paşaköy | 80–90 | all | |||||
Sığırcık | 80 | all | |||||
Kirazlı | 60 | all | |||||
Yortan | 40–60 | all | |||||
Dereköy | 40–60 | all | |||||
Resadiye | 400 | all | |||||
Sultaniye | 10–40 | all | |||||
Gacık | 100 | half | |||||
Total | 1,160–1,300 | 14½ villages burned | |||||
A farm named Şükrü Efendi Çiftliği was also burned. NOTE.—The district covered by the above villages, together with Akköy and Samanlı, is less than a quarter of the total area of the Yalova–Gemlik peninsula, the boundaries of which, on the land side, roughly coincide with the road from Gemlik to Yalova via Pazarköy. |
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ryan Gingeras (26 February 2009). Sorrowful Shores : Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923. OUP Oxford. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-0-19-956152-0. Retrieved 13 May 2013. Cite error: The named reference "Gingeras2009" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d e f McNeill, William H. (1989). Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199923397.
To protect their flanks from harassment, Greek military authorities then encouraged irregular bands of armed men to attack and destroy Turkish populations of the region they proposed to abandon. By the time the Red Crescent vessel arrived at Yalova from Constantinople in the last week of May, fourteen out of sixteen villages in that town's immediate hinterland had been destroyed, and there were only 1500 survivors from the 7000 Moslems who had been living in these communities.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Current history and forum (16 ed.). April–September 1922. p. 478. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
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: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ "Publication - Turkey. Dahiliye vekâleti. Department of refugees - Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ^ a b c d e f Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1970). The Western Question in Greece and Turkey:A Study in the Contact of Civilizations. H. Fertig, originally: University of California. pp. 283–284.
'The members of the Commission consider that, in the part of the kazas of Yalova and Guemlek occupied by the Greek army, there is a systematic plan of destruction of Turkish villages and extinction of the Moslem population. This plan is being carried out by Greek and Armenian bands, which appear to operate under Greek instructions and sometimes even with the assistance of detachments of regular troops
- ^ Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1970). The Western Question in Greece and Turkey:A Study in the Contact of Civilizations. H. Fertig, originally: University of California. p. 286.
The full version can be found here (Online reports of Arnold Toynbee)
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- ^ a b Smith, 1999: 209: "At the same time bands of Christian irregulars, Greek Armenian, and Circassian, looted, burned and murdered in the Yalove-Gemlik peninsula."
- ^ a b "Arşiv Belgelerine Göre Balkanlar'da ve Anadolu'da Yunan Mezâlimi 2". Scribd.com. 2011-01-03. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ^ Gingeras, Ryan (2009). Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912-1923. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780191609794.
In total only thirty-five were reported to have been killed, wounded, beaten, or missing. This is in line with the observations of Arnold Toynbee, who declared that one to two murders were sufficient to drive away the population of a village.
- ^ Doumanis, Nicholas (2012). Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and Its Destruction in Late-Ottoman Anatolia. Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 9780199547043. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, p.342, 1977
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Reports on atrocities in the districts of Yalova and Guemlek and in the Ismid Peninsula. 1921. pp. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ a b Smith, 1999: p. 210
- ^ a b Toynbee 1922, p. 284.
- ^ a b c d Smith, 1999: p. 209
- ^ Gingeras, Ryan. Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923. Oxford Studies in Modern European History. pp. 118–125. ISBN 019160979X.
- ^ a b c "The Western Question in Greece and Turkey" (PDF). Louisville.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ^ "D. Rodogno, Lat Cite, 28 October 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f ARŞİV BELGELERİNE GÖRE BALKANLAR’DA VE ANADOLU’DA YUNAN MEZÂLİMİ (PDF). Ankara: T.C. BAŞBAKANLIK DEVLET ARŞİVLERİ GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı. 1996. pp. 103-112-167-171-188-203-234. ISBN 9751910560. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
Yalova'ya bağlı Çınarcık köyünde halkın camiye doldurulup kamçı ve sopayla dövüldüğü, paralarının alındığı, bu sırada birkaç kişinin öldüğü...Çınarcık village tortured in mosque...Orhangazi'ye bağlı Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy köylerinin yakılıp ahalisinin öldürüldüğü,... Tutluca, Paşayaylası, Bayırköy burned and massacred...Yalova'nın köyler ve diğer yerlerle irtibatını kestikleri, bütün silahları toplayıp, ekmek bıçaklarının dahi uçlarını kırarak, halkı her türlü müdafaa aletinden yoksun bıraktıkları, buna karşılık Hıristiyanları silahlandırıp faciaya zemin hazırladıkları...Weapons of Muslims, even small knifes collected, were left defenseless, villages isolated, Christians were armed.
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at position 359 (help) - ^ a b c d Sofuoğlu, Adnan. KURTULUŞ SAVAŞI DÖNEMİNDE KOCAELİ - YALOVA – İZNİK (XVIII, 54 ed.). Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi. pp. 795-796-797-798-799-800-801-802-803-804-805-806-807-808-809-810-811-812-813-814. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
Bu esnada Orhangazi'den yedi, Çakırlı Köyünden yirmi kişi kurşuna dizilerek öldürüldü. Üreyil ve Çakırlı köyleri halkı feci bir şekilde toptan katl ve idam edildi. Malları ise yağmalandı...In the meantime, seven in Orhangazi, and twenty people in Çakırlı were shot dead. In Üreyil and the village of Çakırlı wholesale murder was executed in a catastrophic way. their goods had been looted...Orhangazi civarında (Ureyil ve Çakırlı) İslam karyelerindeki silahlar toplanarak ahalisi feci bir surette kâmilen katl ve idam edilerek malları yağma ve haneleri ihrak olunmuştur...Near Orhangazi the Muslim villages of (Üreğil and Çakırlı) weapons of the local people were collected, and tragic murders,executions, looting took place and their houses were burned.
- ^ Toynbee 1922, p. 285: ‘Maurice Gehri stated in his report that "...The Greek army of occupation have been employed in the extermination of the Muslim population of the Yalova-Gemlik peninsula."’
- ^ Naimark 2002, p. 45.
- ^ Toynbee 1922, p. 260.
- ^ "KOCADERE ŞEHİTLERİ ANILDI (Victims of Kocadere were commemorated)". http://www.milliyet.com.tr. (Turkish newspaper) Milliyet. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
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- ^ ""Akköy Şehitleri" Anıldı (Victims of Akköy commemorated)". (Turkish) http://www.haberler.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
commemoration of the 60 murdered victims
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- ^ "(Turkish) İETT`li Mehmet Ballı, `Engere` ile tarihe not düştü". http://www.iett.gov.tr. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
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- ^ a b c d Template:Tr icon Sevan Nisanyan. "Index Anatolicus" (Map). Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri. Retrieved 29 May 2014. Cite error: The named reference "Index Anatolicus" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Template:Tr icon "Yalova Valiliği". İlçeler, Çınarcık, Köyler. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.
- ^ General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.
- ^ General Hare, the British Delegate; General Bunoust, the French Delegate; General Dall'Olio, the Italian Delegate; Admiral Bristol, the American Delegate.
- Sources
- A shortened English translation of the French allied report. Reports on atrocities in the districts of Yalova and Guemlek and in the Ismid Peninsula (1921)
- Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1970). The Western Question in Greece and Turkey:A Study in the Contact of Civilizations. H. Fertig, originally: University of California.
The full version can be found here (Online reports of Arnold Toynbee)
{{cite book}}
: External link in
(help)|quote=
- Toynbee, Arnold (6 April 1922) [9 March 1922], "Letter", The Times (Turkey)[full citation needed]
- Andros Odyssey: Liberation: (1900–1940), Stavros Boinodiris Phd
- Naimark, Norman M (2002), Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe, Harvard University Press.
- Gingeras, Ryan (2009). Sorrowful Shores:Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191609794.
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (1999). Ionian vision : Greece in Asia Minor, 1919–1922 (New edition, 2nd impression ed.). London: C. Hurst. ISBN 9781850653684.
- Ottoman archive documents written in Turkish