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| |  | | Mehmed Talat Pasha | | | context : | Armenian genocide  | | judgement place : | Ottoman empire | | status : | Sentenced | | particulars : | Sentenced to death in absentia by an Ottoman Tribunal | | position : | Interior Minister and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire |
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| | | | Mehmed Talat was born in 1874 in Edirne province. A member of the Young Turks, he became member for Edirne of the Ottoman Parliament after the 1908 revolution then, in July 1909 was appointed Minister of the Interior. He became Minister of the Postal Service and then, in 1912, Secretary General of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). He became once again Minister of the Interior in 1913. Together with Ismail Enver Pasha and Ahmed Djemal Pasha (see “related cases”), he was part of the triumvirate which ruled the Ottoman Empire up until the end of the First World War in 1918.
In 1917, Talat Pasha was appointed Grand Vizier (Prime Minister)
He was considered to be one of those principally responsible for the massacre of the Armenians between 1915 and 1917.
The massacre of the Armenians by the Turks during the First World War is considered to be the first genocide of the 20th century. It began on 24 April 1915 in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, with the assassination of 600 renowned Armenians by order of the Government.
By the end of the summer of 1915, two thirds of the Turkish-Armenians, amounting to around 1.2 million people had perished under generally appalling conditions.
Turkish nationalists had seized power a few years earlier in Istanbul. After the entry of their country into the Great War, the Russians invaded Anatolia. The Turks, being forced to retreat were infuriated and multiplied the violent attacks against the Turkish-Armenians, who were guilty, in their eyes, of being favourably disposed towards the Christian invaders.
The town of Van rose up and proclaimed an autonomous Armenian government. The nationalists seized on this as a pretext to accomplish their aim of total elimination of the Armenians. The Interior Minister, Talat Pasha ordained the assassination of the Armenians in Istanbul followed by the Armenians in the army. Following on this, it was the turn of the various Armenian communities to the east of the country.
The following is the text of a telegram from the Interior Minister: “The Government has decided to destroy all of the Armenians living in Turkey. An end must be put to their existence, no matter what criminal measures be taken to do so. No account should be taken of age or gender. Scruples of conscience have no place here”.
The Armenians were promptly put to death by the army or assembled in long convoys and deported to the south, under the hot summer’s sun without food or water, with only death awaiting them at the end of the journey… (text taken from the site www.herodote.net).
In November 1918, Talat Pasha fled to Germany on board the Lorelei, accompanied by Enver Pasha and Djemal Pasha. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | judgement period : | | | 03.1919 - 05.07.1919 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
Genocide
Other | | | profile last modified : | | | 27.02.2010 |
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