MASSACRES EXECUTED BY THE KEMALISTS IN KARAKILISA PROVINCE (1920-1921)

Abstract

The article presents the massacres, repressions and looting, and the goals they pursued, carried out by the Kemalists against the Armenian civilian population in Gharakilisa province in 1920-1921. The Turkish-Armenian war of 1920 had tragic consequences for Vanand (Kars) and Shirak provinces. The Kemalists also invaded a part of Gharakilisa province. The Pambak area was twice subjected to massacres by Turkish troops. Comparative analyses of the Ottoman invasions of 1918 and the Kemalist invasions of 1920 in the area of Pambak were made. If during the Ottoman invasion of 1918 the main blow reached the eastern region of Pambak, particularly the Great Gharakilisa, then during the Kemalist invasion of 1920 it reached the western region of Pambak. The population of the area from Dzhadzhur mountain pass to Nalband station was massacred. Cruel and bloody massacres took place in the area of Pambak for three days by the fanatical mob and the Kemalist armed forces, until the signing of another ceasefire. Thousands of people were killed - women, children and the elderly. 7500 refugees from Kars and Alexandropol regions, who took refuge in this area, were massacred together with the locals. Studies and the analyses carried out prove the genocidal acts committed by the Kemalists against the Armenian civilian population. The massacres of Gharakilisa province can be considered a continuation of the Armenian Genocide, already in the territory of Eastern Armenia.