1919-3-13 Wants An Armenian Inquiry

WANTS AN ARMENIAN INQUIRY Tewfik Pasha Asserts That Atrocities Were Not Confined to Turks MARCH 13, 1919 Special Cable to New York Times. ROME, March 10. -- Tewfik Pasha, until recently Grand Vizier of Turkey, has given an interview to the Giornale d' Italia, in which he says: "I have asked for the constitution of an international commission to ascertain the facts about the Armenian massacre. In this way the Armenian massacre. In this way Europe will begin to know the truth. We not only do not deny the painful fact of the occurrences in Armenia, but deplore them deeply. We are now trying those responsible for them. At the same time, I wish that the facts be known in their true light." Tewfik says that ever since 1876 Russia has done her utmost to bread ill-feeling between the Armenians and their Mussulman compatriots. This, he says, is a historical fact, as demonstrated by the publication of the secret Russian archives by the revolutionists in Petrograd. He asserts that Armenian committees organized a general uprising, instigated by Russian agents, the moment the war broke out. "The Ottoman army," says Tewfik, "attacked in front by the armies of the czar, saw itself also attacked in the rear by the Armenian bands. Consequently, the Supreme Command ordered the deportations. Crimes were here committed by both sides. The Mussulman criminals have been arrested and will be punished as public opinion in Turkey demands, with the extreme rigor of the law. I demand, however, that the heads of the Armenian bands, who were guilty of all kinds of crimes and destruction among the Mussulman population of a million souls, shall also be judged and punished. Justice must make no difference between Christians and Mussulmans. It must be the same for all."