ALLEGED TURKISH ATROCITIES.
TOWN AND VILLAGES BURNED.
TROOPS COMMANDED TO MURDER AND PILLAGE.
CHRISTIANS KILLED,TORTURED AND OUTRAGED.
The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA),
13 Sep 1913.
The "Daily News" of London has been
calling public attention to the grave events
which followed on the advance of the
Ottoman troops from Chataldja and the re-
occupation of the territory wrested from
them by Bulgaria last Autumn. The, ac-
count given by Mr Noel Buxton of the
indiscriminate vengeance and slaughter
wrought by the Turks was confirmed two
days later by telegrams from Constanti-
nople, which quoted reports from the con-
suls of the Powers in Thrace and from
the assistant bishop of the Metropolitan
of Rodosto.
Subsequently the London journal re-
ceived from a source which places its au-
thenticity beyond question, a summary of
this latter report, which is of so terrible
a character that it has been necessary
to alter or suppress passages describing
the worst forms of outrage.
The assistant bishop was a member of
a Commission sent out to investigate the
charges of massacre which early had be-
gun to reach Constantinople. He had as
colleagues four Christians, of whom two
were Greeks and two Armenians, and a
Turkish mufti. His report is dated July
25 and reached Constantinople on July
30.
Bombs and Petroleum.
"On our arrival at Malgara," he writes,
"we saw burnt houses. We found on
making enquiries that the Bulgarians left
on the 15th, and had not done anything
wrong. Then Mehmed Ali and Mustafa
Pasha came from Gallipoli with the Turki-
sh troops. They were met by the popu-
lation, who saluted them.
"On July 17 the army commenced pil-
laging the houses of Christians. At even-
ing a fire broke out, caused by bombs
thrown into Armenian houses by Turks.
Petroleum carts went about the streets
all night, and soldiers threw petroleum
over everything. Panic occurred; people
fled from the burning quarter to other
houses, but were fired on by troops.
Several fled to the bazaar, where thirteen
Armenians and five Greeks, were at once
killed. At night the town was abandoned
to the troops. The bazaar and many Ar-
menian houses were burnt. The wind
changed and burnt some Turkish houses.
Nearly 300 houses, of which 67 were
Greek, 15 Ottoman, and the rest Ar-
menian, were destroyed.
Priest Tortured.
"On the same day, July 17, the army
passed to Kalivia. When they entered it
a trumpet was sounded and an officer
gave the order, 'Plunder and massacre!'
(Yagma, Yakun, Kessin). Thereupon the
army dispersed and killed all the Chris-
tians they met. All the houses were
looted. A priest told us that they caught
him by the beard, tortured him till he
lost consciousness, and robbed him.
Women were seized. An eye-witness tells
us he saw a girl jump from a window to
avoid a Turkish soldier. The
Canon of the Greek Monastery, with his
priests, took refuge in the belfry; but,
seeing the danger, they tried to fly. They
were caught by the troops, and ropes
were put round their necks, but the
canon had his throat cut at once; a priest
was also killed. The village and neigh-
borhood are full of corpses of men,
women, and children. Many girls al-
lowed themselves to be burned in their
houses in order to save themselves from
the soldiers. Several of the victims went
mad.
"Sakche was a hamlet of seven Greek
families. When the army appeared an
officer demanded of a man whether the
hamlet was Christian or Moslem, and on
his reply gave orders to burn it. The
order was obeyed. The inhabitants who
had not fled were burnt.
"An eyewitness at Haskeuy said that
after the entry of the army he heard
shots; many women and girls were caught
by soldiers and were taken to a windmill.
Afterwards they were stripped naked and
sent off. A little later Moslem villagers
arrived, and pillaged everything belong-
ing to the Christians. Then fire broke
out, and the village was burned.
Hunted by Dogs.
"The Bashi-Bazouks had many dogs
with them. They hunted refugees, and
the Bashi-Bazouks shot them. Our informant
saw Christe Lambro, a notable, who had
had his eyes gouged out and his nose slit
because he would not say where his valu-
ables were hidden."
The report gives details not unlike those
of Haskeuy, in regard to the villages of
Thimitkeui, Kurtli and Temberitkeui.
The entire news report can be viewed at the source below
Source: ALLEGED TURKISH ATROCITIES. (1913, September 13). The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922), p. 6. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210112629
Note
More information about the massacre of Greeks perpetrated by Ottoman troops in the Malgara region in July 1913 can be found in The Persecution of Greeks in Turkey since the Beginning of the European War by Archimandrite Alexander Papadopoulos (pp. 32-52).
In this source the following details were recorded:
At Rodosto: 23 Greeks were killed.
At Kalyvia: Wholesale massacre. On the 4th of July the Ottoman Army entered Kalyvia and began forcibly entering homes, firing at citizens and setting fire to houses. Many girls chose to stay in their homes and were burned to avoid being raped. The Abbot, the priest and an assistant were butchered. Wells were chocked with dead bodies. All houses were burnt. The church and monastery were destroyed.
At Haskeuy: The Ottoman Army entered the village on the 4th of July and began firing at men, women and children killing a large number. Women were raped.
At Thymetkioi: Ottoman soldiers entered the village on the 4th of July. The church was stripped and burned. All houses were looted and many were massacred. Women were raped. The village was burnt to ashes.
At Kiourtle: Army entered on the 4th of July and for 2 days began to plunder, beat and murder the residents. They burned most of the houses and partly burned the church. Turks from the region entered and took everything including furniture, cattle and food.
At Temberikioi: The Army entered on the 4th of July and burned the church and 30 houses. They then looted and massacred many of its inhabitants.
