Are Forced Deportations a tool of Armenian Genocide?

Supportive

"Forced Deportations" were just a make up to hide the real intentions.

"Forced Deportations" were targeted to deserts.

"Forced Deportations" were used as a means to kill unprotected Armenians.

"Forced Deportations" were coordinated with the millitias to kill the Armenians.

Defensive

The immigration and re-settlement process has taken 1,5 years from May 1915 until October 1916. All the actions were performed under scrutiny. After the end of WWI English and French authorities have extensively studied the Ottoman archives during their occupation in Istanbul have failed to find even a single document hinting about aims toward destroying the Armenian culture. Republic of Turkey had opened most of the Armenian cultural heritage to tourism. There are many historical places, including Mount Ararat which can bee seen in Turkey.

The process of deportations was not happened in secrecy. There is a "law" that binds the actions of the people who act on it. The meaning of the law is important as it forms the criteria that is used in judging for the intentions of the state. The law which was put on action reads; "emigration/immigration" ("tehcir"), the government did not intended "deportation" or "exile". The law, as commonly known as the "Tehcir Law" is the same as "Temporary Law On The Military Measures To Be Taken For Those Who Resist The Governmental Acts And Supplementation's." The actions of the persons are bind with that definition. If any one who does not act on the intended text is a criminal in the eye of the law.

::Republic of Turkey do not give statistics on how many Armenians were really affected by this law. It is not proven that besides the active military zones there were Armenians left in Anatolia. There are no statistics on what happened to Armenian land, church, etc.

Ottoman State had significant spend fiscal and material costs of Armenian security, safety, health and food of the immigrating Armenians. The governments that want to destroy a race, genocide, try to do it as cheap as it can. Part of the genocide process is insensitivity of the decision makers toward that race. This can not be said on the behalf of Ottoman Empire. Decisions clearly reflect political and military reasons more than hate toward the Armenians.

The Ottoman central government (Istanbul) archives contain telegrams from high Ottoman authorities, concerned with the prevention or punishment of acts of violence against the Armenians, including records of military personnel who were tried and sentenced to death, for these offences <ref name=Lewis>The Middle East, Bernard Lewis,Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1995</ref>.

<references/>

Ref

Enver Pasha, acting Head Commander, sent the following note to Talat Pasha on May 2, 1915. "Armenians domiciled around Lake Van, and in Van Provincial Governorate are always ready for an uprising. I think that the Armenians should be moved from these places, and centers of revolt be dissipated. According to the information given by the 3rd Army Command, the Russians caused the Moslems within their own boundaries to immigrate over our boundaries in miserable conditions. Both as a retaliation to this act, and to ensure the aim I mentioned above, either the said Armenians should be transported into the Russian land together with their families; or they should be distributed in the various regions in Anatolia also with their families. I kindly request from you the selection of the most suitable alternative and act accordingly. However, I personally prefer that the revolting people and their families be sent beyond our borders; and Moslem people their families be re-settled in their place" ATBD, December 1982, no: 81, document 1830.