Behaeddin Shakir
Encyclopedia
Behaeddin Shakir or Bahaeddin Shakir ' onMouseout='HidePop("54086")' href="/topics/Turkish_language">Modern Turkish
: Bahaettin Şakir ) (1874, Istanbul
- April 17, 1922) was a founding member of the Committee of Union and Progress
(CUP). At the end of World War I
, he was detained with other members of the CUP, first by the local court martial and then by the British government. He was then sent to Malta
pending military trials
for crimes against humanity, which never materialized, and was subsequently exchanged by the British for hostages held by Kemalist forces in Turkey.
(ARF) blames Behaeddin Shakir for involvement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918 - 1920), specifically in the communications between Musavat and the CUP. In the initial stages of this war the ARF (Armenian Militia) was engaged in armed confrontation with the Azerbaijani forces during which many Muslims were expelled from Baku or went underground. The tide turned when Enver Pasha of the Ottoman Empire
begin to move forward with the newly established Army of Islam. Dunsterville ordered the evacuation of the city on September 14, after six weeks of occupation, and withdrew to Iran; most of the Armenian population escaped with the British forces. The Army of Islam and their Azeri allies, led by Nuri Pasha, entered Baku on September 15. However, after the armistice of Mudros
between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire
on October 30, Turkish troops were substituted for those of the Triple Entente
. Headed by British general W. Thomson, who had declared himself the military governor of Baku, 5,000 Commonwealth soldiers arrived in Baku on November 17, 1918. By General Thomson's order, martial law was implemented in Baku.
; a death squad staffed by criminals. This is sometimes used as proof of a state organized genocide using the tehcir
(deportations) process of the Tehcir law
. Halil Berktay
says that local administrators objected to Behaeddin Shakir's deportation orders and called for his arrest. (Dissidents were usually replaced by hardliners; sometimes twice if the replacement was not pliant.)
In the autumn of 1919, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF), part of the Armenian national liberation movement, ruled to punish the executors of the Armenian Genocide
. Behaeddin Shakir was assassinated on April 17, 1922 under Operation Nemesis
. His assassins were never detained.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Bahaettin Şakir ) (1874, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- April 17, 1922) was a founding member of the Committee of Union and Progress
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
(CUP). At the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was detained with other members of the CUP, first by the local court martial and then by the British government. He was then sent to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
pending military trials
Inter-allied tribunal attempt
Reference to the need for and establishment of an Inter-allied or International Tribunal, also known as the Malta Tribunals, to launch prosecution for, among other things, a Turkish genocide of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire during World War I was made in the proceedings of the Paris Peace...
for crimes against humanity, which never materialized, and was subsequently exchanged by the British for hostages held by Kemalist forces in Turkey.
Armenian-Azerbaijani war
The Armenian Revolutionary FederationArmenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
(ARF) blames Behaeddin Shakir for involvement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918 - 1920), specifically in the communications between Musavat and the CUP. In the initial stages of this war the ARF (Armenian Militia) was engaged in armed confrontation with the Azerbaijani forces during which many Muslims were expelled from Baku or went underground. The tide turned when Enver Pasha of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
begin to move forward with the newly established Army of Islam. Dunsterville ordered the evacuation of the city on September 14, after six weeks of occupation, and withdrew to Iran; most of the Armenian population escaped with the British forces. The Army of Islam and their Azeri allies, led by Nuri Pasha, entered Baku on September 15. However, after the armistice of Mudros
Armistice of Mudros
The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I...
between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
on October 30, Turkish troops were substituted for those of the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
. Headed by British general W. Thomson, who had declared himself the military governor of Baku, 5,000 Commonwealth soldiers arrived in Baku on November 17, 1918. By General Thomson's order, martial law was implemented in Baku.
Armenian genocide
Behaeddin Shakir was claimed to be the central figure of the Teşkilat-i MahsusaTeşkîlât-ı Mahsûsa
The Special Organization was an Ottoman imperial government special forces unit under the War Department allegedly progenitor of the National Security Service , which was used to suppress Arab separatism and Western imperialism under Ottoman Empire. The main aim of the Special Organization was to...
; a death squad staffed by criminals. This is sometimes used as proof of a state organized genocide using the tehcir
Tehcir
Tehcir is an Ottoman concept which resembles the current notions of "population transfer". From dictionary definition, Tehcir means, relocating a population or a sub population from one region to another within a country or a territory that the enforcing agent has the control...
(deportations) process of the Tehcir law
Tehcir Law
The Tehcir Law was passed by the Ottoman Parliament on May 27, 1915 and allegedly came into force on June 1, 1915, with publication in Takvim-i Vekayi, the official gazette of the Ottoman State...
. Halil Berktay
Halil Berktay
Halil Berktay is a Turkish historian at Sabancı University and columnist for the daily Taraf.-Biography:Berktay was born into an intellectual Turkish Communist family. His father, Erdogan Berktay, was a member of the old clandestine Communist Party of Turkey...
says that local administrators objected to Behaeddin Shakir's deportation orders and called for his arrest. (Dissidents were usually replaced by hardliners; sometimes twice if the replacement was not pliant.)
In the autumn of 1919, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
(ARF), part of the Armenian national liberation movement, ruled to punish the executors of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. Behaeddin Shakir was assassinated on April 17, 1922 under Operation Nemesis
Operation Nemesis
Operation Nemesis is the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's code-name for a covert operation in early 1920s to assassinate the Turkish planners of the Armenian Genocide. Those involved with the planning and execution of the operation were survivors of the massacres...
. His assassins were never detained.