KURDISH VIOLENT ACTIONS IN THE VAN PROVINCE DURING THE GOVERNANCE OF ITILAF: RAFAYEL YERITSIAN’S MURDER CASE

Abstract

In July 1912 when power was temporarily transferred to the Italians in the Ottoman
Empire, favorable preconditions seemed to have been created for the Armenians of Van to stop
the Kurdish lawlessness. However, the murders continued, and the situation did not change
drastically. On October 11, 1912, during a brief break in a rocky gorge, Kurdish bandits killed
diocese Rafayel Yeritsyan, inspector of education of the Akhtamar region priest Ter-Martiros
from Hyuryuk village of Sparkert and five other Armenians who were accompanying them.
The villagers of Karkar, who were filled with rage, took revenge. The government being
indifferent to the punishment of the Kurdish criminals immediately took measures to ban the
revenge of the Armenians and arrested the offenders. As a result of beatings and torture, many
villagers migrated. In the autumn of 1912, during the First Balkan War, Russia, along with the
recognition of the problem of Armenian reforms, established special relations with many
Kurdish tribes to attract their Russian counterparts. Being cautious of Russian politics, Turkish
authorities in Van and Bitlis were instructed by Constantinople to maintain good relations with
the Kurds. To this end, in December 1912, The Ministry of Internal Affairs sent instructions to
the governors of the six states of Western Armenia on the normalization of Armenian-Kurdish
relations.