116
Ottoman Sultan fort he non-Muslims and European
devletler make the follow up for it.
215
After the declaration of the Rescript of Gulhane
and the Rescript of Reform, although both Muslims and
non-Muslims were discontended in the beginning, there
would be a new oppotunities for non-Muslims and
comparing with Muslims they would be in a better
condition.
When the improvements above were reviewed
in terms of Armenians, it can be said that the point that
should be taken into consideration is after 1856
Rescript an implementation regarding non-Muslims
was brought into force. Consistories that every
community had would started to lose their importance
and a new settlement where members from public can
take part would take their places. In this way, at a
council where religious people had taken part till that
day, there would be representatives from public and it
would be a big step regards to nationalism and
secularism in the existing system.
216
There is another
important situation regarding the Armenian except
consistoriees: The Armenian National Constitution.
The Armenian National Constitution
As a result of missionary activities Gregorian
Armenian nation was divided into three with the
division to Catholics and Protestantism. To prevent this
division Armenian patriarche would try to emphasize to
nationalism effectively and with the pressure of
European countries, at 29th March 1863 ‘’The
Armenian National Regulation’’ ( Nizamname-i Millet-i
Ermeniyan) would enter in force. This regulation
composed of 99 articles was a kind of constitution and
according to this constitution the plan of a council with
140 members was on the agenda. This new parliament
215
Bernard Lewis, The Birth of Modern Turkey (Modern Türkiye’nin
doğuşu), Ankara, 1993, s.116; Gürün, op.cit., s.72.
216
Berkes, op.cit., s. 228.
117
would be closeyly involved to the election of Armenian
Patriarch.
217
In this way, with the priviledge of having a
constitution and parliament they took an essential step
and they almost established a separate structure in the
government and inevitably they moved forward to the
idea of independence.
1877-1878 Ottoman-Russia War and the
Treaty of San Stefano
Russia, after 1856 Paris Treaty, according to its
Panslavism policy on Ottoman Empire, would start to
encourage Slavs at the Balkans for revolt as a result of
it there would also be riots at Herzegovina and
Bulgarian and especially at 1876 Bulgarian riot
allegations for massacre of thousands of Bulgarians by
the Turkish and Ottoman Empire would be face with a
new accusation on European agenda one more time.
After a while, serbia and montenegro would
revolt against Ottoman government with the support of
Russia but when this war had ended up with Ottoman
Empire’s success European governments would
involved in the solution of the situation to solve the
problem in diplomatic way. Russia, Britain, French,
Germany, Austria, and Italy would gather at the capital
of Ottoman Empire at 23rd od December 1876 for
Shipyard Conference.
The Shipyard Conference was an unmissable
opportunity for Armenians. At the conference,
Armenian patriarch would table a report to British
Ambassador Sir Elliot showing how Armenians
suffered oppression and to take the attention of
European governments he also did not fail to declare
Armenian nation would also revolt against to Ottoman
217
Esat Uras, Armenians at History and Armenian Matter, İstanbul,
1976,s. 175; Gürün, op.cit., s. 78.
118
if necessary.
218
Russia and other participants wanted
Ottoman empire to give lands to Serbia and
Montenegro making an agreement with them,
Bulgaria’s having its own autarchy system, Turkish
soldiers’s just being in the big centers, general
proclamation for Bulgarians, gather weapons from
Muslims. And they also would charge an international
commision for those demands to be covered.
219
Those
demands that were against the territorial integrity of
Ottoman were rejected for certain. The salvation
formula of the government, the most important one of
all reform movements; Constitutional Monarchy would
be declared in a place where all European
representative were present.
With
the
declaration
of
Constitutional
Monarchy, the equality matter would be guaranteed
with a constitution in the frame of Ottoman citizenship
comprehension. And Ottoman was a Constitutional
Monarchy with a real constitution from that time on.
Briefly, Ottoman Empire could do any kind of reform
on its own and there was no need fort he intervention of
any other countries.
However, Ottoman signed an essential reform as
a government with a constitutional and Parliamenter
formation on the agenda, Russia had no choice other
than declaring a war to Ottoman to achieve its goals.
1877-78 Ottoman Russian war passed into history as
the ’93 war because according to julian calender it was
1293.
Ottoman
Russian
war
began
with
the
declaration of war by Russia agaşnst Ottoman ar 24th
April 1877. Ottoman empire who fight at two sides as
218
Bozkurt, op.cit.; Osman Köksal,(, Turks and Armenians in History)
The Mission og Church Making the Armenian Matter as an International
Issue, ed. Metin Hulagü, Musa Şaşmaz, c. 9, TTK, Ankara, 2014, s.7;
Gürün, op.cit., s. 98.
219
İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Tersane Konferansının Mukarreratı
Hakkında Şura Mazbatası, History Magazine, c.V, sa.4, 1956
(
http://www.journals.istanbul.edu.tr/iutarih/article/view/1023
002103/1023001748)
(erişim tarihi: 03.03.2017)
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