Agha Petros
1923: Agha Petros and the Lausanne Telegraphs
Background
After the Assyrian genocide and the expulsion of the remaining Assyrians in the Ottoman Empire, the Assyrian delegation in Lausanne made some effort to convince the Turkish delegation to let the Assyrian resettle in their homeland in Hakkari. The Turkish delegation stubbornly rejected these approaches. Having rid itself of an ethnic element was not interested in repopulating parts of Anatolia with Christian population, whether indigenous or not.
The Lausanne telegraphs published by the Turkish Historical Society contain all the telegraphs sent between the Turkish delegation in Lausanne and the Turkish Government in Ankara.[1] The telegraphs reveal the resolve of the Turkish delegation not to entertain any thoughts of an Assyrian homeland. The following two telegraphs best document this attitude.
Translated by Dr. Racho Donef from transliterated Ottoman Turkish
Assyrian Photos
