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HOW
THE ARMENIAN ISSUE CAME ABOUT?
When the Ottoman
Empire began to decline and was exposed to European interventions
in many fields, deterioration began in the Turkish-Armenian
relations. The Western powers then started to sever the Armenian
community from the Ottoman community for attaining their own
regional interests.
A number of
European states that intervened in the Ottoman internal affairs
under the guise of ensuring the introduction of reforms, organised
the Armenians against the Empire. As a result of the provocations
of the internal and external Armenian organisations as well
as of the Armenian Church, this community gradually began
to dissociate itself from the Turks.
Starting to
fight against Turks under alliance with the Western powers
despite all the good intentions of Turks, the Armenians initiated
a campaign to present themselves as a subjugated society and
to accuse the Ottoman Empire of “having annihilated” their
sovereignty rights in Anatolia.
As they lost
their former privileges when the Moslems and non-Moslems were
given equal rights under the Restoration Firman, the Armenians
asked Russia not to withdraw from Eastern Anatolia that it
had invaded during the 1977-1878 Ottoman-Russian war, to grant
autonomy to these regions or to introduce reforms in their
favour. This request of the Armenians were partially accepted
by Russia and the Armenian issue was brought onto the international
platform after Hagia Stephanos Treaty, signed at the end of
the war; and also after the Berlin Treaty signed later. Thus,
foreign countries that wanted to divide Turkey started to
intervene in Turkish-Armenian relations. It is with these
claims that the Armenian issue had begun to take shape and
acquire an international character.
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