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days, German A. Y. Kluge, wrote that Armenians attacked the Muslim
(Azerbaijani) streets and killed them with brutality. After a few days of this mas-
sacre 87 Azerbaijani corpses were uncovered and their ears and noses were cat
off, bellies were torn, sex organs were cut off. Armenians did not show any
mercy to the kids and to the old. M. A. Rasulzade wrote referring to A. Y.
Kluge: “The photos taken by Kluge and other foreigners, which exist today as
memories of those days, clearly describe the tragedy. The shepherd dogs ab-
sorbed bulk of corpses of kids... and naked women laid dead on the ground..
.alive baby sucks dried gland of a dead mother...” “Istiqlal newspaper published
in Munchen under the leadership of M. A. Rasulzade dedicated its XXXI
number, dated Aprel 1, 1933, entirely to 15 anniversary of the 1918 massacre.
(42)
M. A. Rasulzade wrote about Shamakhi tragedy: “The old capital of
Shirvanshakh was attacked and the historical mosque was destroyed... like
Shamakhi Lenkeran, Salyan, Guba, Nevahi and Kurdemir were undergone to
this tragedy. Even the description of the destroyed property, abuse, killing of the
old and looting is tragedy”. (43)
The address of the chairman of the Emergency Investigation
Commission, Alakbarbey Khasmamadov, to Azerbaijani nation with regard to
assistance to the people in Shamakhi, who were in difficult situation, was
published in “Azerbaijan” newspaper in the anniversary of March events in
March 31, 1919. The address reads: “The miserable people are in need of great
help. They have been deprived of almost everything even they have no strength
to ask for assistance. However, they will not survive unless there is any
assistance. Namely those who are engaged in grain cultivation were deprived of
husbandry, labor tools and of seeds. There are villages that even do not possess
any cow or hen... diseases emanating from famine and coldness destroy a
number of people every day. Obviously our government, which attaches great
importance to improvement of well-being of people, will assist to the people of
Shamakhi who suffered more. But this assistance does not release any citizen,
especially any Muslim, of moral duty and citizen obligation to help the people of
Shirvan, which has historical traditions that faced death threat. Muslim citizens,
do save the people of Shamakhi who face death threat!”
After this address, despite the difficult situation, attention and care
began to increase to Shamakhi people from the different regions of Azerbaijan
along with the government.
Most importantly, the 1918 events were reflected in the literature
regardless of the Soviet censorship. Uzeyir Hajibayov, Mahammed Hadi, Mirze
Bala Mammedzade, Ibrahim Khelil and other intellectuals created different
works on this issue. Along with other works, Jafar Jabbarli wrote the story
(Ahmad and Gumru) that dealt with two Shamakhi youth. The story is related to
Shamakhi youth' love and to the March events that brought about tragedies to
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this innocent youth. The work depicts that Ahmad and Gumru, having their
parents been killed by Armenian gangsters and their houses brunt, meet in front
of Ismailiyye building in a miserable condition. Having known each other in
difficulty after being in tragedy and deprivation and the calling “wounded,
disabled Shamakhi hostage” , they could not hug each other because Armenian
criminals had cut off their arms. (44)
The Emergency Investigation Commission had already proved that the
main criminals of Shamakhi massacre were Stephan Lalayev, born in
Shamakhiand lived in Baku, Shamakhi residents Gavril Karaoglanov, Arshak
Gulbandiyan,
Mikhayil
Arzumanov,
Karaped
Karamanov,
Armenak
Marterosyants, Aleksandr Khachaturov, Michail Khajaturov who were
composed of 31 persons. The research materials constitute 7 volume, 925 pages
collected by the commission on the genocide committed by Armenians in
Shamakhi and in its villages play a crucial importance in exposing Armenian
crimes.
Along with Shamakhi, the Emergency Investigation Commission had
also explored the atrocities committed by Armenians in Jengi, Garavelli,
Garbujag, Musafali, Khelil-Gasimbey, Arab-Mehdibeyli villages, and moreover
in Sultanov and Sadali residents of Kurdamir and Goychay districts.
The research did also clarify that Armenians had burnt 5 houses, 127
residents, 2 mosques and rich library on "Koran" interpretation in Kurdamir.
(45)
Azerbaijani delegation had used part of the materials of the Emergency
Investigation Commission in the Paris Peace Conference. In addition, part of the
materials of the Commission was publishedin French as 73 pages “documents
on Armenian atrocities against the Muslim population” in 1919 in Istanbul. This
wasthe first attempt to disseminate the truth to the world community and it
played an important role at that time. In the Paris Peace Conference, the head of
the Azerbaijani delegation, A. Topchubashov, submitted the materials of the
Emergency Investigation Commission to the U.S. president W. Wilson in May
28, 1919. Later the U.S. delegation was sent to the South Caucasus to collect
impartial information. The general Harbor, sent by the U.S. to Baku in summer
of 1919, met with many people to gather impartial information. The Armenian
representative bishop Bagrat made an attempt to deny involvement of
Armenians in the March events. In general, Russian and Armenian organizations
functioning in Baku made an obstacle to and put a pressure on the work of the
Emergency Investigation Commission. However, the Commission managed to
do much work in the short run despite the constraints and challenges.
The Emergency Investigation Commission that operated a year and a
half gathered 35 volumes, 3500 pages materials on crimes committed by
Armenians working under the flag of different political nationalist parties. On
the basis of these documents 128 reports were made up and 194 persons were