ISSUE 8

GENOCIDE

PAGE 9

governor of Urmu and he decided to form an assembly comprising of  heads of Armenians, Asyyrians, Kurdish and Jewish communities called "Commission of International Friendship". A big bouquet of flowers were prepared . Juma mosque was chosen for the point of meeting and the date was set for Thursday 13th of December . On that day a large crowd of Azeris, Assyrians, Kurds Jews and Armenians gathered. All Christian girls had a flower attached to their chests. There was an atmosphere of friendship and unity. Everybody was calling one another to support peace. Ajlalulmulk made a speech and children of all races were holding hands around him. Everybody thought there will be no bloodshed and this is the end of violence.
This was just a show with no substance and Urmu's history was waiting for the bloodiest chapter yet. France and Britain were fighting against Germans and its Ottoman ally. Disastrous condition of Russian army was a big worry of the Allies. They knew Russian will not be able to hold the line against Ottomans in Southern Azerbaijan.  Therefore they decided to make an army of local Armenian, Armenian refugees from Ottoman empire, Armenian of  Caucasus and Assyrian. British and French  military officers undertook the responsibility of training of Christians.  Marshimon, religious leader of Assyrians, had series of meetings with other leaders of Assyrian  and Armenian community. Meanwhile French and British military officers  were arriving into Southern Azerbaijan through  Julfa. United states of America  an ally of France and Britain had  scores of schools, hospitals and other institutions in the city. They have been living in the area for a long time and  had an excellent knowledge of their environment . Governor general of Tebriz  became aware of the intention of foreign military officers. Local democrat party leader sent a telegraph to Tehran and demanded an end to the activities of religious missionaries and military officers.  Behind closed doors intensive diplomatic activities were carried out in Tehran. Lips were sealed and nobody was revealing what was discussed and what outcome of all these negotiations were. Only American embassy  publicly clarified it's stance, which was  printed in the papers.

There was a  rumors in the city that  American government was responsible for financing the creation of the Christian army but, American categorically denied it. However they admitted that an American  religious missionary based in the US has provided  funds to fight against poverty but, local branch of this missionary had spent the proceed on creation of  the Christian army .
Ajlalulmulk governor of Urmu in a letter to the consulates of the foreign countries involved expressed his dissatisfaction with rheir acts, although it made no difference in continuing with their plan . These foreign governments were only looking after number one and they did not care about fate of the people.. On the other hand Christians of Urmu with the help of Russian army had committed so many crimes against their Azeri neighbors and withdrawal of Russian soldiers was a terrifying news for them. They were planning to create a haven for protection from revengeful Azeris. All these led to a plot for creation of a Christian country in entire Western Azerbaijan bordering with Ottoman Empire. Marshimon was expecting to become the head of this Christian country. These Christian figures were  being backed by foreign countries  for a long  time and they were being used either against Ottomans or Qajar governments. Russian started withdrawing  from Southern Azerbaijan. They were selling their weapons.  Instead of buying these weapons and arming themselves against Christians, Azerbaijanis missed this opportunity. Christians bought them all at a very low prices. There was a rumor in the city at the time that Ajlalolmolk has asked tebriz to allow him to buy them ,but governor general in tebriz did not give him the permission to do so.
Days were passing by.  European and Asian Christians were plotting against Muslims and Muslims were not aware of what is waiting for them. Christians were making sure that Muslims are not having access to any kind of weaponry by setting up checkpoints in various entrances of the city. They were planing to expel Muslims out of their cities or villages and then attack and destroy them. They were so confident of success of their plot that they were having no fear in putting such a horrific plan  into action.

To be continued in next issue