While Armenian nationalists start telling their myths about the "genocide", they present the Dashnaks as some kind of "innocent sheep". They are usually silent about how much the Muslim population suffered at the hands of Dashnak terrorists and how many mined inhabitants these terrorists destroyed. But recent publications of Armenian nationalists can indirectly present and recreate a picture of crimes committed by Dashnaks against non-Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. Especially as the victims of these crimes were in many ways also Georgian Muslims (Lazs and descendants of refugees from Adjara - "chveneburi").

 Descendants of those very terrorists who eliminated Lazs and other Georgian Muslims on the territory of today's Turkey, then once again proved themselves during the war in Abkhazia in 1992-1993, distinguished by unprecedented brutality during the genocide and expulsion of peaceful Georgian population.

Such conclusions can be drawn from the article "The Heroic Self-Defence of the Armenians of Djanik-Hordu of Hamshen" posted on the ultra-nationalist Armenian website Yerkramas (whose home page is dominated by fascist Nzhdeh). 1915-1923". ( https://yerkramas.org/article/10/geroicheskaya-samooborona-amshenskix-armyan-dzhanikordu-19151923-gg ). This material is said to have been prepared "based on the materials of M. Torlakian's book "In the Footsteps of My Days" ("Oerrus Het") and the recollections of the participants of the events".

It should be recalled that historically the Janik region got its name from the Georgian tribe of the Chans or Lazs. That is, these are the historical lands of Lazeti (Lazika or Lazistan). After the conquest of Adjara by the Russian Empire, the Georgian population of these lands increased. Janik and especially Ordu town and its surroundings became settlement sites for Muslim Georgians refugees that did not want to be under Russian imperial rule after 1878.

One way or another, descendants of Georgian refugees in Ordu, Giresun and other places of historical Lazeti still live today. They call themselves 'chveneburi' (i.e. 'their' in Georgian) and still maintain Georgian language and traditions in many areas, especially in villages. However, in 1915-1923 these Georgians had to live through the horrors of the Dashnak terror, which left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.

Naturally, Armenian nationalists, describing those events, present their own, the Dashnak bandits, as "heroes":

"Among the glorious pages of Armenian resistance during the Genocide in Ottoman and then Kemalist Turkey stands the longest self-defence of the Armenians of Pontus during 1915-1923, little known to the general public. It is no exaggeration to say that this heroic self-defence of the Armenian fidayeen, which lasted for long eight years, refutes the myth that the Armenians were gutless and unresisting victims during the most terrible period of our history...".

The lies described in the book are obvious, for to withstand eight years, equipped with all kinds of modern weapons, the Turkish army is another myth of Armenian propaganda, as is the whole story of the "genocide". Well, the authors naturally keep silent about hundreds of thousands of Turks, Kurds and Georgians-Muslims killed by Dashnaks.

"Yerkramas provides details of the formation of gangs and the actions of Dashnak bandits:

"...Trabzon Vilayet had two major pockets of self-defence - in the Trabzon (Emura) area, and in the Janik-Ordui Mountains. Apart from them, self-defence units were active in Trabzon and Karader (Sevked) townships. Our brief account recounts the glorious pages of the resistance movement of the Armenians of Djanik and Horde and its heroes.

It is customary to begin the events of the 'Armenian genocide' with the deportation decree of 1 June 1915, although this is not correct. Prior to the issuance of the decree, two other actions took place across the board that had a significant impact on the condition and situation of the Armenian population during the Genocide. Firstly, before the deportations began, Armenians were conscripted into the Turkish army, where they were massacred almost without exception. This action in Pont primarily affected urban Armenians in Samsun, Czarsamba, Terme, Unye, Bafra and Ordu, less so the rural Armenians, who were difficult to enlist and often sabotaged the draft. Secondly in April-May 1915 the repressions against the Armenian intellectuals and socio-political circles swept through all parts of Turkey. The Djanik-Ordu districts were not an exception in this regard. Thus, in April 1915 several representatives of the Dashnaktsutyun Party were arrested in Samsun. After the announcement of the deportation decree on 24 June 1915, this action was repeated against other Armenian social leaders, and the same happened in Ordu. Thus, before the mass deportations began, the Armenians of Pontus found themselves weakened and were therefore unable to organise worthy resistance in the cities. Nevertheless, attempts at self-defence were made by Armenian groups in Samsun, Charshamba, Bafra and Terme, which were immediately crushed...".

It is very interesting to pay attention to the following nuance: with the outbreak of the First World War, general mobilisation was announced in the Ottoman Empire, regardless of the nationality of the citizens. Muslims, including Georgians and Lazs all went to the army to defend their country. The Armenians, on the other hand, avoided mobilization. As a result, in the Georgian villages of Lazeti there were almost no men left, capable of armed resistance. Old men, women and children were left. They were countered by Armenian detachments of heavily armed Dashnak fighters, formed of those who had evaded military mobilization.

Yerkarmas writes the following about how Dashnak gangs were formed and their leaders:

"...The situation was different in the rural districts, where the population, immediately after the deportations and massacres began, began to leave the settlements to take refuge in the mountains and avoid expulsion, and soon organised a number of Fidayeen self-defence groups in all the districts of Janik and Ordu districts. The leaders of these groups were both local ARD members and respected community representatives. By the autumn of 1915. Fidayeen groups were formed in Ordu under the leadership of Garabed Vartanian (Vashtonoghli) with a centre near the village of Pambuklug, Setrag Minasyan (Deli Setrag, Minasoghli) and Kuchuk Artyn (Arzumonyan Artyn), in Charshamba - Der-Khoren Kalenjian (Delhi Papaz, Delhi Keshish), Khachig Tulumjian, Apriom Khachadourian, Agop Keian (Agopos) and Sarkis Tatoulian (Tiakuytsi Tatulogli), in Terme region - Zeytunyan Hovhannes (Zil Hovhannes), Khachig Gharagyozyan (Kara Khachig) and Minas Ghasumyan; in Fatsa region - Garabed Urumyan and Garabed Saryan, stationed near Savoujag village Garabed Tahmazyan (Deli Hoxha), Avedis Chakryan, Dikran Zeytunjyan, Kevork Kesyan and later Serop Karakeyan in Unya, concentrated near the village of Keklug and in the Taz-Dag tract. By autumn these units formed three partisan formations, the first in the area of Tyakur village under the command of Tyakuitsa Tatul, the second - in the area of Terme-Charshamba under the command of Zil Hovhannes, the third - in the area of Unye-Ordu headed by Vashtonoglu. Later they were united under the overall leadership of Zil Hovhannes, one of the most famous Hamshen fidayin from the Armenian village of Pambuklug in the Terme district. He fulfilled this role until his tragic death in early 1917, in his native village. The Turkish administration and military, realising and feeling the strength of the Fidayeen resistance, made repeated attempts to assassinate Zil Hovannes throughout 1916, eventually succeeding in settling accounts with him, only through treachery...".

Armenian nationalists are also very fond of shedding crocodile tears over the alleged "destruction of Armenian churches by the Turks". However, in an article published on the Yerkramas website, they explicitly admit that it was the Dashnak militants who robbed ("took the holy places with them") and burned their own, the Armenian church:

"...In 1915-1917 the Hamshen fidayeen conducted a number of successful operations and battles, the memory of some of which has survived in folklore. Stories and memories of eyewitnesses tell of the heroic defence of the Armenian district of Tyakur under the leadership of Sarkis Tatulyan. The defenders three times repulsed the superior Turkish forces from the local shrine, the Church of Surb Minas, where the relics of the Armenians of Hamshen were preserved. Leaving these places for good in 1920-1921, the Armenian haiduks burned the church and took the relics with them, transporting them to Russia without allowing the Turkish ascetics to abuse them...".

It would be logical to assume that, having looted and burnt down Armenian churches in Turkey, the first thing the "Christian Armenians" would do was to build churches where they had relocated to. But it was not like that! We should remind you that not a single Armenian church operated for decades in areas where Armenians settled. They built the only church in Gagra after the separatist war and total expulsion of the Georgian population from the city. 

It is interesting to know where the Dashnaks put those "holy places" that they allegedly "saved" from the Turks. That is, banal sacrilege, vandalism and looting, the banal destruction of churches is presented as a "deed". At that, these Armenian nationalists lay a claim to 465 Georgian churches on the territory of Georgia!

The Armenian Dashnak gangs in historical Lazeti (Lazstan) were a serious military force:

"...In the summer and autumn of 1915, on the orders of Zil Hovhannes, Avedis Chakryan with a detachment of fidayin undertook a protracted campaign to the Giresun area, which resulted in the unification of all partisan groups of Djanik-Hordu, gathering refugees under its protection and the release of dozens of prisoners and hostages from the Turks. Therefore, Armenian fidayeen movement represented a powerful military formation by the end of 1915 and the beginning of 1916 ... At the end of 1915 the fidayeen were victorious in the battle with groups of Gurji Chavush at Kez-depe. It was the first resounding victory of the Armenian Hayduks...".

The 'Gurji Chavusha units' mentioned above are self-defence units of the local Georgian population organised to counter Dashnak gangs. The nickname "Gyurji" itself indicates that the person in charge of the militia and self-defence units was a Georgian.  As almost all young healthy men from the Georgian villages of Lazeti (Lazistan) fought in the Turkish army, these self-defence groups mainly consisted of old men, invalids, cripples, teenagers, and badly armed. Therefore, one should not be surprised that Dashnak gangs, armed to the teeth, inflicted defeats on these units.

In fact, the Dashnak gangs organized another front against the Turkish army and assisted the Russian army, which occupied the eastern regions of Turkey:

"...In February 1916 a battle took place near the village of Taz Dag, during which the fidayeen were again defeated by the Turks. In this battle Dikran Zeytunjyan, one of the Hambapts, died heroically. Throughout 1916, attempts of the Turks to eliminate the main stronghold of Zil Hovhannes in the Kaklug area did not cease, but all of them were unsuccessful. In addition, Adam Chavush's Fidayeen group from Yozgat had moved to Janik that year, adding to the local compound. Russian troops entered Trabzon in April 1916. Afterwards, Zil Hovannes convened a meeting of detachment commanders in the village of Uch-Punar, during which it was decided to send a delegation to Trabzon with a request to relocate them to the Russians and remove civilians from the war zone. But Russian commanders only agreed to help with the refugees, asking the haiduks to remain in Janik to assist with the advance of Russian troops...

Afterwards, Zil Hovhannes's headquarters settled in the village of Kerish-Depe, near Terme. Soon the Turks undertook a massive attack in three directions to finally put an end to the Fidayeen resistance. Kerish-Depe, Tjakur and Kel-Depe came under attack. But all these attempts by the Turks were in vain, both in 1916 and 1917...".

There is no mention here of the villages burnt down by the Dashnak bandits and the civilians killed and tortured. All this can be imagined, all the more that similar "exploits" were repeated by descendants of these Dashnaks in Abkhazia as part of the Baghramyan battalion.

However, the suspension of the Russian offensive, and then the revolution in Russia and the collapse of the Caucasus Front broke the Dashnak plans for "complete cleansing" of the lands of eastern Turkey of the native population:

"After the harsh winter of 1916-1917 the Armenian fidayeen suffered an irreparable loss. At the beginning of 1917 the first leader of the Janyk-Horde self-defence force, Zil Hovhannes Zeytunyan, was treacherously assassinated. From then on, the association split into two groups: in Horde under the command of Vashtonoghli, and in Charshamba and Terme under the leadership of the established council...

But in 1917-1918 Russia was in the fire of revolution, and the Russian army began to leave the Caucasian front in droves. The Turks, inspired by this, attempted to massacre the Armenian fidayeen separately. In 1918 Artyn Minasyan and Hovhannes Urumyan were treacherously assassinated, Garabed Tahmazyan was imprisoned, an attempt was made to assassinate Avedis Chakryan and his associates, etc. During this semi-peaceful period, the Armenian hajduks were also involved in rescuing Armenian orphans from Turkish families, prisoners, hostages and so on, in addition to farming.

The Dashnak bandits also fought against the Kemalist army, diverting it from other fronts where it had to fight for Turkish independence, particularly against Greek aggression. This time they became allies of the Greek interventionists and Greek gangs in the Turkish rear:

"...Already by 1920 the situation in Turkey had deteriorated again. An internal struggle between Kemalists and anti-Kemalists broke out in the area and gangs of Bashi-Buzouks and deserters were rampant. In this situation the Armenian armed units withdrew into the mountains again and a new phase of struggle and self-defence began. In 1920 Horde units of Vashtonoghli were able to repel an attack by the most ferocious of the local Bashibuzuk, Topal Osman of Giresun. In 1921 Hagop Krbashian defeated the Kemalists in the Erbag district who attempted to encircle and destroy Armenian fidayeen groups.

In 1921 the Fidayeen fought a self-sacrificing defensive battle in the region of Kel-Depe. It became clear to the Armenian avengers at that time that help was nowhere to be expected. Some of them decided to move to Russia, and in the summer of 1921 Sahak Kamalyan and Mesrob Yazijyan left the Termean forests and set out for the Black Sea coast of Caucasus... In 1922 there were calls from the Kemalists for reconciliation and disarmament, and some Armenians succumbed to this provocation. The anti-Greek hysteria was already at full swing in the Pontus and pogroms were just a step away. During all these years Armenian fidayeen have been working hand in hand with local Greek haidouks. In December 1922 the Turks managed to lure Armenian and Greek partisan leaders under the pretext of negotiating peace and a way forward. As a result, five Greek commanders were killed and Deli Keshish, Deli Hoxha, Artyn Khachaduryan and others were imprisoned,

... They took several prominent Turks hostage in nearby Turkish villages and demanded that they be transported armed to Russia. The Turkish military, knowing the experience and capabilities of the cornered Fidayeen, agreed to this option. On November 16, 1923, the last Armenian fidayeen marched out of Chankirish, escorted on their sides by Turkish military units, reached the seashore near the town of Unye, loaded themselves onto sloops and left their homeland for good...".

And here, even if reluctantly, the authors mention terrorist methods of the Dashnaks, in particular, hostage-taking.

In a few decades, descendants of Dashnaks, who killed Muslim Georgians in Turkey, will start to kill Georgian population of Abkhazia who believed their false stories of "long-suffering" and "genocide" and sheltered bandits that fled from Turkey on their land.

Kavkazplus