I WITNESSED and LIVED THROUGH

The day the Army Commander left, as we were having a meeting
with Col. Morel at his office, I told him that there were officers who
were looking forward to leave. An official present there, Sogomonian,
an Armenian, said, in the presence of everybody there, that as a
member of the Court Martial he would not let any of the Russian
officers leave; that he would personally shoot all those who would
attempt to leave Erzurum; and that reinforced police stations were
established in Köprüköy13 and Hasankale14 to arrest those who would
try to leave without the documents signed by him and bring them
before the Court Martial.
I then understood that we were caught in a tight trap from which it
was impossible to escape. It was evident that the declaration of
Martial Law and the establishing of the Court Martial were solely for
the Russian officers, not for the ferocious Armenian gangs.
Tyranny and oppression continued in the city as before. The Russian
officers were trying hard to defend the unarmed and desperate
Turks. There are lots of incidents where the officers under my
command used force to save the Turks who were arrested and
violated in the streets by the Armenians. Karayev, Laboratory
Director, opened fire on an Armenian soldier who stripped naked a
Turk out in the open in the day light.
None of the promises made for the hanging those who were
massacring the unarmed innocent people were kept. The Court
Martial established could not function. It was afraid of the threats
posed by the Armenians. Although it was promised by the Armenians,
before the Court Martial’s getting into effect, that the guilty
Armenians would be hanged none of the guilty Armenians were
punished. By the way, Armenians were the ones who strongly
advocated the putting of the Courts Martial into effect in no time.
Turks have always been saying determinedly that an Armenian would
never punish another Armenian. A Russian proverb says, “Crow,
would not scoop another crow’s eye out.” We witnessed the truth of
this proverb with our own very eyes.
Armed Armenians fled together with their families. The Reserve
Officer Karagadayev, who was in prison, was released without my
authorization. Colonel Morel answered my enquiry on Karagadayev’s
release by saying that the investigation launched proved him not guilty.

13 Sub-district affiliated to Pasinler district of Erzurum. Today, Çobandede.
14 Pasinler district of Erzurum.