The Departure of Armenians from Maraş, 1920 - 1922
Memet Yetişgin
Keywords: The Turks, Armenians, The Ottoman Empire, the French, Marash, Mustafa Kemal, Missionaries
Abstract
Not allying with the Turks against the invaders, and not showing any desire to live a friendly life with the Turks after the armistice, the Armeni- ans continued to entertain their long-time desire for an independent State. For this, they sided with the invaders, especially with the French. In Ma- raş, they got the French support and increasingly began to attack the Tur- kish values and lives. When the Turks had to fight for honor and freedom against the French occupation forces, they had to fight the Armenians, too. After a bloody confrontation, the Turks became the victor. The French oc¬cupation was forced to leave the city, carrying along with them many tho- usand of the Armenians. The Armenians who remained behind after the war in Maraş sought proper ways to leave from the city. As the Franco- Turkish agreement in Ankara signed in October 1921, which agreed on the French occupation to leave the area, the Armenians wanted very much to leave the area with them despite assurances given to them by the authori- ties and the Ankara Agreement. Thus, the last remaining large groups of Armenians in Maraş left the city in January 1922.