Order of Operation of the Armenian Genocide

In 1918 member of the Turkish State Council, lawyer and founder of the Anglophile Association Said Molla started to publish the “Turkish Istanbul” newspaper. On March 25, 1919 the newspaper published a letter from the central cabinet of the party “Unity and Progress” entitled “Letter with instructions to the Special Committee”. It concerned the Armenian Genocide during WWI.

The newspaper called it “Terrible and tragic document“, noting that it was published without any changes. The letter with instructions consisted of 10 articles, which step by step described all those actions that were to be committed in the process of Armenians deportation. These actions were described by scientists Taner Akcam, Donald Bloxham and Ukur Umit Ungior as a part of the deportation process.

“Turkish Istanbul” does not indicate the source of the letter, moreover, it is known that the archives of the committee of “Unity and Progress” disappeared after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

Despite all this, it is noteworthy that there were Ottoman Turkish publishers such as “Turkish Istanbul”, “Alemdar”, “Peem”, which discussed and criticized the party of “Unity and Progress” after the World War I. Below are the points of the document:

1. Applying Articles 3 and 4 of the “Law about companies”, close down all Armenian companies, arrest members of their leadership who oppose the government of the committee of “Unity and Progress”, send them to the outskirts, such as Mosul and Baghdad, and kill them on the way there.

2. Take away all weapons from Armenians.

3. Influence the opinion of the Muslim public, using appropriate methods, organize a number of incidents (as Russia did in Baku) in Van, Erzurum, Adana, where Armenians as a result of their actions received hatred from Muslims.

4. Leave the implementation of actions in the cities of Erzurum, Van, Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Bitlis to the population. Use troops and armed forces as if they prevent slaughter. In the zones of military operations, cities of Adana, Sebastia, Bursa, Ismit and Izmir, on the contrary, help the Muslims.

5. Take measures to destroy school teachers, especially men younger than 50. Do not touch women and children to convert them to Islam later.

6. Destroy the families of people who managed to escape, take all measures to stop all their connections with their native cities.

7. Remove all Armenian officials from government offices and branches by accusing them of espionage.

8. Destroy men in the army with appropriate methods.

9. Immediately begin all those actions so there will not be time for the application of protective methods.

10. Keep this letter with instructions in secret, hand it to one or two persons for storage.
On March 25, 1919 “Turkish Istanbul” wrote: “In accordance to the instructions described in the letter, the exiled Armenians were subsequently killed and destroyed. The letter was published without changes. ”