Khetcho

Khetcho (Armenian: Խէչո; 1872 – July 1915) was a renowned Armenian activist and combatant. A member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Khetcho led an active life in Armenian politic affairs. During his time as an activist, he participated in the Khanasor Expedition, an offensive by Armenian fedayees against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on July 25, 1897. He was also a key supporter of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. In 1915, during a skirmish between Turkish forces near Bitlis, he was killed in action.

Khetcho
Native name
Խէչո
Born1872
Nakhichevan, Russian Empire
DiedJuly 1915 (aged 42–43)
Bitlis, Ottoman Empire
Allegiance Dashnaktsutyun (?–1915)
 Russian Empire (1914–1915)
Years of service?—1915
Battles/warsArmenian National Liberation Movement
Defense of Van (1896)
Khanasor Expedition
Armenian–Tatar War
Persian Constitutional Revolution
World War I

Early life

Khetcho was born Khachadur Amirian in 1872 in Nakhichevan which was then part of the Russian Empire.[1] His father was a local priest.[2] He studied in Shushi at the local Diocese School.[3] Khetcho goes on to become a trainer of Armenian revolutionary fighters who were mainly stationed in the Caucasus.[4]

Khanasor Expedition
From left to right: Keri, Yeprem Khan, and Khetcho

In 1896, during the aftermath of the Defense of Van, the Mazrik tribe had ambushed many of the Armenian defenders of Van as they were retreating into Persia. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation decided to retaliate, resulting in the Khanasor Expedition. Khetcho departed from Persia and participated in the expedition which became his first armed combat mission.[4][5] During the mission, Khetcho met Yeprem Khan, another Armenian Revolutionary who Khetcho eventually collaborated with during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.[5]

Armeno-Tatar clashes

Thereafter, during the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–07, Khetcho participated in the defense of Armenians throughout the Caucasus.[6] During his participation, he was assistant to Nikol Duman, an Armenian fedayee from Karabakh.[3] He was in charge of defending Armenian villages that were situated next to the Arax river.[2]

Iranian Constitutional Revolution

During the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, Khetcho fought the anti-constitutionalists alongside Yeprem Khan and Keri from 1908–10.[3][7] Khetcho's unit spearheaded the monarchist's army becoming a viable force within its ranks.[8] In 1910, while in battle, Khetcho's jawbone was shattered by a bullet.[1] Thereafter, he was forced to settle in Switzerland.[4]

World War I
Khetcho and Dro
Khetcho on horseback

In the First Balkan War of 1912–13, the Ottoman Empire had lost its Balkan possessions to Christian uprisings, intensifying fears in the Turkish homeland that the Empire's increasingly restive Armenian Christian minority—with the assistance or encouragement of Western governments—might also attempt to establish an independent state, resulting in the breakup of Turkey itself.[9][10] Distrust and suspicion of Armenians reached a peak following the outbreak of World War I, when a successful advance of Russian troops across the Turkish border into the heavily Armenian-populated vilayet of Van in early 1915 was blamed on Armenian disloyalty, leading the Turkish government to adopt a set of extreme measures which would culminate in the Armenian genocide.[10]

1914, Members of the Armenian volunteer units; Armen Garo, Khetcho, and Drastamat Kanayan

Prior to the start of World War I, Khetcho participated in the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Council meeting in Berlin.[3] Khetcho was then tasked to acquire armaments in order to support self-defense efforts.[11] At the start of the war, he was one of the five Armenian legions formed to enter Ottoman territory forming the Armenian volunteer units under Russian command.[12] During the Van Resistance, Khetcho's unit was among the first to enter and liberate it on May 5, 1915.[13] This was followed by the Russian armies occupation of the city a few days later.[13]

Death

After Van was liberated, Khetcho and his squadron were assigned to assist self-defense efforts in Mush and Sassoun.[3] In July 1915, Khetcho stopped in Bitlis, where in June 1915, during the Armenian Genocide, Turks and Kurds, led by Jevdet Bey, were known to have massacred 15,000 Armenians.[14][15] In preparation for a Russian advance, the Turkish forces mounted their artillery atop a mountain with a clear path to launch a renewed offensive onto the village.[2][15] Fearing an impending massacre upon the Armenian population of the village, Khetcho and his regiment led a cavalry offensive against the Turkish army pushing them higher up the mountain.[2] However, during a counter-attack by Turkish forces, Khetcho was fatally wounded.[2] His body was taken to Van where he was ultimately buried next to other Armenian revolutionaries.[1][6]

References
  1. "Khecho". Ararat. London: Armenian United Association: 46.
  2. "A Man of Action and a Hero". Ararat. 5 (53): 210–2. Nov 1917.
  3. Tasnapetean, Hrach (1990). History of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutiun, 1890-1924 (PDF). Oemme Edizioni. p. 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-03.
  4. Manchikean, Hakob, ed. (2006). Houshamatyan of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation: album-atlas (in Armenian). Los Angeles: Western United States Central Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. p. 56. ISBN 0963527843.
  5. Berberian, Houri (2000). The love for freedom has no fatherland : the politicization of Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 149. ISBN 0813338174.
  6. Ayvazyan, H. M. (2005). Ov ov ē hayer: kensagrakan hanragitaran. Haykakan hanragitaran hratarakchʻutʻyun.
  7. Habeshian, Vahe (2014). Voices from the Past: Excerpts from Writings of Armenian Revolutionaries. Hairenik Association. ISBN 1940573092.
  8. Vahagn Avedian. "History of Armenia". Armenica.org. Armenica. p. 276.
  9. Lieberman, Benjamin (2013). The Holocaust and Genocides in Europe. New York: Continuum Publishing Corporation. pp. 51–6. ISBN 9781441194787.
  10. Akçam, Taner (2012). The Young Turks' crime against humanity: the Armenian genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691153339. - Profile at Google Books
  11. Kaligian, Dikran Mesrob (2011). Armenian organization and ideology under Ottoman rule, 1908–1914 (Rev. ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. p. 188. ISBN 1412848342.
  12. Mathossentz, Murad (1988). The black raven (1. publ. UK ed.). London: Policy Research Publ. p. 30. ISBN 095114362X.
  13. Karapetian, Jack (April 1986). "The Heroic Stance at Van" (PDF). Hye Sharzhoom. 7 (3): 5.
  14. Walker, Christopher J. "The End of Armenian Taron and Baghesh, 1914–1916" in Armenian Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush, pp. 191–206.
  15. Kévorkian, Raymond H. (2010). The Armenian genocide: a complete history (Reprinted. ed.). London: I. B. Tauris. pp. 336–346. ISBN 1848855613.
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