3 enclosures.
The enclosures include the official correspondence that I carried out with the local Vali in the matter of the deportation of the house supervisor, Solighian, and the former honorary dragoman, Elfasian.
Until now, I have not received any written and official answer.
Your Excellency will see the further developments in this matter from my telegrams. I respectfully request that you overlook the telegraphic reports that may, in this case, be too explicit and the sharp tone of my first two dispatches, which are due to the excitement of the moment arising from the government's actions.
My statements only expressed and still express my convictions.
I would respectfully like to state the following in this matter.
I. On the people in question.
1) Director Solighian studied in Germany, is favourably disposed towards all things German, and was a professor for German at the Sanassarian School here for 30 years. Mr. Solighian has always been of great use to the consulate and certainly deserves its protection.
All of the accusations against him, e.g., that he formerly belonged to the Dashnak Party, are without any basis whatsoever.
The government believes that I possibly receive news through him on Armenians and occurrences in the country that are unpleasant for it – thus its drastic actions against this man.
2) Elfasian, employed by Vice-Consul Anders as the consulate's "honorary dragoman." In view of the political situation, I have not made use of his services here. On the other hand, he has not been charged with anything. Due to the striking form of his arrest, he has also earned the protection of the consulate.
3) Stableman Garabet – was already one of Mr. Anders' employees and accompanied him on all his journeys. Again, there are no charges against him.
At present, the government appears to be refraining from arresting and deporting him.
II. On the matter in question.
As I already emphasised in my telegrams, all of the government's actions appear to have solely the following purpose:
1) To make it impossible for me or any other consul to associate with Armenians so that, as the Vali chose to put it, "the representatives of the consulate could not be influenced against the Turks."
2) To demonstrate that, with the revocation of the capitulations, the German consulate is also no longer able to protect its members.
III. On the method in question.
The extremely abrupt way in which Solighian and Elfasian were deported had to be seen and was seen as generally being directed against the consulate.
I, too, was of this opinion and informed the Vali accordingly. The Vali denied this and explained that his actions were motivated by the fact that the chief of police had informed him that I had said that I would not hand Solighian over. I made no such statement whatsoever and intimated to the Vali that the chief of police lied.
The Vali stated further that I had "freed" the people in Ilidya "from prison." This is also not true. Firstly, those arrested in Ilidya were not in prison, but moved about freely. Secondly, I inquired only about their welfare, and when I found out that orders had arrived that they be sent back, I no longer concerned myself about them.
The only reason I inquired about them at all was because, after what I had experienced here, I could not deny the fear that these two people, both of whom were an embarrassment to the government, might possibly "disappear," particularly since the Vali had said in one of our conversations that he could not accept any responsibility for the safety of these two people if I did not agree to their deportation. Under these circumstances I considered it my duty to show interest in the employees of the consulate.
After the Vali had first refused all of my requests to let the persons under arrest go free, he sent for me on the afternoon of 5 July, suggesting I should undertake not to hinder the departure of these two on 8 July, in return for which he would let them go until then.
I replied that in the meantime Your Excellency had requested that those in question be permitted to remain in Erzurum. I would have to wait for an answer to this. Should this answer or permission that they stay not have arrived by Thursday, I could not and would not hinder Solighian's and Elfasian's departure. In any case, I would request that the innocent persons arrested be released immediately.
However, the Vali made their release dependent on my promise that I would give my agreement "in any case whatsoever" that the persons in question be sent away on 8 July. I had to refuse to give such a promise.
The deportation of the persons in question was then decreed on the morning of 6 July, supposedly at the order of the Supreme Army Command, whereby the Vali believed that he was relieved of any further responsibility in this matter.
I respectfully request that, in the interest of the reputation of the local consulate, Your Excellency has permission obtained that the persons in question may stay in Erzurum or return here.
The entire police procedure showed that the local authorities do not yet understand how to let the consideration for representatives of a foreign, in this case even allied power that made the capitulations their duty, prevail as self-evident politeness, even after these capitulations have been revoked.
Apart from that, I consider it my honourable duty to ensure as far as possible that the people who are now suffering because of their relations with the German consulate (and they have been informed of this, among others by the chief of police himself), receive a certain satisfaction and justification. For this reason I also request that the people in question, should it not be possible at present to enable them to return here, at least be permitted to go to Constantinople or to Germany, so that they will not be subjected to the agonising, if not fatal deportation to Mesopotamia.
Finally, I would like to emphasise that I have only officially interceded in this one case on behalf of Armenians affected by deportation, where members (so to speak) of the consulate are involved.
Otherwise, I always restricted myself to private requests to alleviate the fate of the deported, and this only in special cases.
To His Excellency Tahsin Bey, the Vali of Erzurum.
Erzurum, 3 July 1915
Your Excellency, I respectfully permit myself to inform you of the following in writing.
Approximately 3 weeks ago I discussed with Your Excellency the question of whether Mr. Solikian, the owner of the house in which the German consulate is located, will also have to leave the town. Your Excellency gave a positive reply to this question, should all Armenians be deported, and added that Solikian would be able to stay until the roads were safe and that he and his family would not have to go to Mesopotamia together with the other deportees, but that he could travel alone to some other suitable place, possibly even to Germany, as he had requested. In order to make it easier for Your Excellency to settle this matter, I informed Your Excellency in my letter of 22 June that I had formally employed Mr. Solikian as a house supervisor from 20 June onwards, as until that time he had de facto been the consulate's house supervisor. As I learned during a later conversation, Your Excellency was more than satisfied with having the matter settled in this manner. A few days ago I spoke to Your Excellency once again about this matter.
Your Excellency informed me that orders had been given to deport all the Armenians. I then remarked that Your Excellency had permitted Solikian to remain here until a suitable and safe means of travel offered itself, and emphasised that I myself would then ensure that he got away. Your Excellency agreed to this as well. On 29 June, the chief of police visited me and asked, among other things, whether or not I agreed to the immediate deportation of Solikian. I replied that Your Excellency himself had permitted Solikian to stay until a suitable means of travel offered itself, and that I would speak to Your Excellency the next day about this matter. I requested that he inform Your Excellency of this.
After this conversation I visited the home of our consulate's former dragoman, Mr. Elfasian, for the first time. My car and my 'cavass' waited in front of the door, which is just a few steps from the police station; this door can be seen from the police station. I had only been there for a short while when a policeman appeared, demanded Mr. Elfasian's 'vessica' and informed him that, if he did not have one, he would have to leave town immediately. As the police must have known that Mr. Elfasian did not have such a 'vessica', but that, on the other hand, he had formerly not received any deportation orders, this sudden deportation appeared unjustified and particularly harsh, quite apart from the ridiculousness of having such an order delivered while I was there. I took the opportunity of speaking to the chief of police about it. He apologised that the order had been delivered while I was there and furthermore, promised that Elfasian would be given enough time to prepare for the journey. On the next day, 30 June, I was already in the konak in order to visit Your Excellency when I was informed that Solikian had been arrested in the market square while carrying out my orders to buy wood, and that supposedly Elfasian had also been suddenly arrested.
Your Excellency confirmed this news to me. I did not hide my displeasure about this occurrence from Your Excellency and emphasised that, under the attendant circumstances, this exceptional measure could be seen as also being directed against the consulate. Your Excellency then promised to give immediate orders to release these men under the condition that I would not try to prevent their departure on Saturday, 3 July. I promised this on my part in order to accommodate Your Excellency.
By the evening of that same day there had been no release; on the other hand, I heard that the gentlemen had been transported on foot to the town of Ilidya, approximately 16 km away.
On the morning of the next day I inquired during a ride whether the arrested men were still in Ilidya. I learned there that they were still there and that the order had arrived that they be brought back. When the arrested men had still not arrived in Erzurum by 4 p.m., I requested in a (private) letter to Your Excellency that order be given again to release the arrested men, as I assumed that the police had been careless in carrying out Your Excellency's order. During this time, a gendarme verbally informed Mrs. Solikian through one of my employees that her husband was under arrest at a police station in town, where she could visit him. I then requested a second time in writing (private letter) that Your Excellency fulfil the promise given to me and order the arrested men to be released. While I then first received an answer via a commissioner of police that Your Excellency was still negotiating by telephone in this matter and that the arrested men would no doubt soon be released, Your Excellency's secretary later brought me a message that Your Excellency regretted that "because I informed myself in Ilidya of the prisoners' well-being" and "because their release would make an unfavourable impression on the population" they could no longer be released.
I permit myself to point out the following with the greatest respect to Your Excellency:
The arrest of the owner of the consulate building, who lives with the consul under the same roof, and of the former dragoman of the consulate – two people who were in close contact with the consulate – under such conspicuous circumstances, without the accusations raised against them being based on any concrete evidence, the particularly harsh form of their deportation from Erzurum hurts and damages not only those people in question, but is also suited to give the impression that this measure was used as a demonstration against the consulate. This opinion can spread particularly easily among the uneducated classes of the population.
I am convinced that it is not Your Excellency's intention to let such an opinion arise. The alliance between the two governments, which Your Excellency and I have the high honour to represent here, the joint objectives of both people, who spill their blood as loyal comrades-in-arms to defend their native country, should by itself prevent such an opinion. But it is my duty as the representative of the German Reich to ensure that any possibility of such an opinion arising is excluded, just as I must ensure that no measures are taken against people who have had relationships with the German consulate that are more severe than those against others.
Thus, I continue to hold the more pleasant conviction that my aforementioned remarks as well as my reference to possible unpleasant consequences in this matter will induce Your Excellency to put straight those mistakes possibly made by the police as a result of their overenthusiasm, that the arrested men be released immediately and that they, as well as the others, be given time to make their travel arrangements before leaving town.
I look forward to receiving a note accordingly from Your Excellency and take this opportunity to assure Your Excellency once again of my deepest respect and devotion.
[signed] Scheubner-Richter
Erzurum, 3 July 1915: 8 p.m.
Your Excellency!
Based on news I received again today, the conspicuous method used in the arrest and deportation of Solikian and Elfasian is generally viewed as having been selected because the people in question were connected with the consulate; thus, they represent an act of unfriendliness against the consulate.
Therefore, to my great regret, I must once again urgently request that Your Excellency answer my letter of today on this matter as quickly as possible, the contents of which I adhere to completely. Furthermore, I request that Your Excellency postpone the departure of the people in question until this matter has been settled in an adequate manner.
I once again take the liberty of pointing out to Your Excellency the possible consequences the unpleasant development of such an actually meaningless matter could have, and hope that Your Excellency will find a way to settling this matter in a satisfactory manner.
With the expression of my deepest respect, I remain Your Excellency's faithful,
Erzurum, 5 July 1915
Your Excellency,
With respect, I permit myself to inform you that according to a dispatch I received, His Excellency the Imperial Ambassador placed a request with the Ministry of the Interior in Constantinople that Solikian and Elfasian may remain in Erzurum.
1) the personnel files of the consulate in Erzurum (see p. 3 of the enclosed report on Elfasian's appointment as honorary dragoman of the consulate)
2) the administrative decision on the enclosure (telegraphic correspondence with Erzurum)
As I informed (person's name) [replaced by Mr. von Scheubner] by telegram at that time, the three people in question had no formal claim to our protection, as they were not recognised as so-called privileged officials by the Turkish authorities. This also applies to Elfasian, whose employment and deployment as honorary dragoman by Mr. Anders first became known here as a result of this incident. His recognition by the local authorities would have to have been requested from the Sublime Porte through the intercession of the Imperial Embassy; however, this never happened, as the files prove.
Nor can Solighian, the house supervisor, and Garabet, the stableman, be considered as public officials who, through their functions, are not at the disposal of the Turkish authorities; the consulates had – even under the rule of the capitulations – a right to be informed of plans to bring forward and arrest such persons. It can be inferred from the letter sent by you [replaced by Mr. von Scheubner] to the Vali dated 3 July, that such consideration was shown insofar as the Vali had already informed you [replaced by Mr. von Scheubner] several weeks earlier that Solighian had to prepare for his deportation.
Apart from that, I must agree with you [replaced by Mr. von Scheubner] that the authorities' actions against Solighian represent an act of unfriendliness, which can be explained in part by the fact that the authorities had a suspicion that the two persons in question influenced you [replaced by Mr. von Scheubner] in favour of the Armenians. In addition, the authorities first permitted exceptions and moderations, as was also seen elsewhere, for individual persons and even for entire categories of the Armenian population until finally – apparently upon orders from higher up – deportation to Mesopotamia was extended to all Armenians with no exceptions. Thus, if the Vali did not keep his promise not to have Solighian sent to Mesopotamia should he be deported, he cannot be reproached for this.
Unfortunately, there is not the slightest chance that further steps by the embassy in favour of Solighian and Elfasian would be of any success; they might possibly even serve to worsen the fate of these people. Thus, at present, I must refrain from suggesting the matter to the Porte.