Megerdich Avedisian

MEGERDICH AVEDISIAN, THE FOUNDER OF THE ARMENAGAN PARTY Megerdich Terlemezian (Avedisian) was born into the Terlemezian clan, which belonged to the circle of notables in Van. He was also known by the surname Avedisian, after his father, Avedis, and it is by this surname that he is known in the history of the Armenian liberation struggle. Avedisian attended the Varjabedanots School of Van. In 1878, he be-came one of the first graduates to have been taught by Portugalian. In 1880, following the closure of the Varjabedanots School, the pupils were forced to take instruction from Avedisian and Kalousd Aslanian outdoors, in groves. Many of the graduates or those who failed to graduate, including Avedisian, willingly devoted themselves to the task of continuing the educational work started by Portugalian, while at the same time assuming the direction of schools in the regions of Van and Baghesh (Bitlis). In addition to his educational activity, Avedisian devoted himself to the task of spreading propaganda and the cause of national liberation. In 1885, when the Turkish authorities finally exiled Portugalian and Khrimian from Van, deeming them to be dangerous personalities, Avedisian was left to face the weighty challenge of continuing to fulfill their obligation. In August of the same year, together with his fellow ideologues, he laid the foundation of the Armenagan Party in the garden of his paternal home. The founders pursued the task of educating the ignorant youths and young adults of Van and the surrounding area, who had given themselves to excessive eating and drinking as well as neighborhood fights, in order to turn them into a force dedicated to the national cause. Avedisian conceived the idea of a Sunday school, which he founded, together with his fellow ideologues, in the parish school adjoining the Haingiuys Church. The youths and young adults who gathered there every Sunday afternoon would subsequently become closely attached to their teacher and would form the nucleus of the newly created Armenagan Party. Avedisian gradually became the idol of the Van youth and the most prominent of active figures. During that period, for almost a quarter of a century, Vasbouragan remained divided between the Boghosians and Non-Boghosians. The former were assembled around Bishop Boghos Melikian, Prelate of Van, and represented the anti-Khrimian conservative element; the Non-Boghosians, in turn, had a progressive and liberal leaning. It was mostly on account of the Boghosians that Khrimian was removed from Van. A year after the founding of the Armenagan Party, when the idealistic attendees of the Sunday school had been prepared, Avedisian published an article in the Constantinople Armenian press, calling for a fight to be waged against the Boghosians. He was arrested in 1886 as a consequence of this. However, he managed to escape from jail and went via Persia to Constantinople, where he was again arrested and exiled to Tripoli (Libya). After remaining there for a short time, he succeeded in reaching Marseille on a French steamship and took refuge with his teacher Portugalian. There he began to write articles in "Armenia", which were sent through secret channels to Van. During the time he stayed in Marseille, Avedisian also became the indefatigable advocate of the Armenian Patriotic Society founded in London. Making the rounds of the European Armenian communities, he acquainted them with the situation in Western Armenia and, particularly, in Van. During Avedisian’s absence, the work of the Sunday school was carried forth by Kevork Odian, Arisdagess Akhigian and Mikayel Natanian. It was during this period that the youths who joined the party engaged in secret firing practice in the Varak gorge. In 1892, Avedisian settled in the village of Havtvan near the town of Salmasd in Persia. A significant number of Armenagans, including Krikor Bozugian, the founder of the Salmasd chapter and Avedisian’s colleague (known by the name of Nersess-Bartev and also by the surname Shigaher), and Armenag Yegarian, who was engaged in the transporting of arms, were located and worked there. In Salmasd, Avedisian immediately put the party’s affairs in order and established contact with the newly established Armenagan chapter in Baku. He became the district superintendent of the Salmasd regional schools, and took on the task of spreading education in the Armenian-populated villages. News of the Hamidian massacres reached Salmasd in 1895. The Armenian-populated towns and villages, ranging from the Mediterranean basin to the southern shores of the Black Sea, were subjected to massacre and plunder. Although Van had still remained exempt from those tragedies, nevertheless dark clouds had gathered in the sky above it. At Avedisian’s urging, Shigaher went to Van, from where he sent a report to Salmasd, explaining the worrisome situation in Vasbouragan. In the beginning of 1896, Avedisian considered the time opportune to secretly return to Van. During that period, the Hunchak activist Mardiros Sarukhanian (Mardig) and the Dashnaktsakan activist Bedo were working in Van, too. In concert with them, Avedisian proceeded to engage in self-defense efforts, exercising utmost caution, in order not to give the Turkish authorities a pretext to speed up the massacre of the Armenians of Van. In the spring, the government in Constantinople, dissatisfied with the mild policy of Nazim Pasha, governor of Van, sent Saadeddin Pasha as inspector to carry out the government policy of massacring the Armenians. Avedisian, Bedo and Mardig arranged for Shigaher, Armenag Yegarian (Garabeg) and Manoug Vartanian (Derbe) to cross over into Persia for the purpose of collecting money and weapons. Unfortunately, the plan failed because the Persian authorities arrested them. On June 3, after having thoroughly studied Van and vicinity for two months, Saadeddin Pasha gave notice for the massacre. The Armenians of Van put up a heroic self-defense, thus aborting the plan of massacre, thanks to the joint plan of defense drawn up by Avedisian, Bedo and Mardig, and the concerted efforts of the populace. Encountering unbreakable resistance and conjecturing that this situation could last a long time and even create an opportunity for Russian military intervention to occur from the Caucasus, Saadeddin appealed to the British consul, a cannonier named Captain William. The Armenians rejected William’s offers for conciliation. The perfidious consul, who had become acquainted with the Armenian positions during the course of the negotiation, positioned himself at the head of the cannons of the Turkish army, wearing a fez, and succeeded in destroying practically all the Armenian defensive positions. Considering this circumstance, as well as the lack of ammunition, the Armenian side was forced to accept the peace offer. A mutual agreement was reached, whereby the Armenian armed forces were permitted to leave Turkey, together with their weapons, and the Turks pardoned the Armenians of Van and guaranteed their safety. Avedisian, along with his 430 warriors, who were augmented by 400 unarmed youths, did not believe in the Turkish promise. They headed for Persia via Mt. Varak, while Mardig and Bedo, accompanied by 80 armed fighters, departed in a different direction. However, both groups met their death at the hands of the Turks, who broke their promise, and Kurds, who resorted to arms at the former’s instigation. Avedisian, his brother Krikor, and the majority of the 840 fighters, fell on the slope of Mt. St. Bartholomew after an uneven skirmish. Only thirty of them managed to reach Salmasd. One of those survivors, Mourad, a native of Shadakh, passed away in Boston, Massachusetts in 1947. Bedo, Mardig and their comrades-in-arms met a similar tragic fate on the slopes of Mt. Karahisar. Thus ended the life of Megerdich Avedisian, the 32-year-old founder of the Armenagan Party, on June 10, 1896.

Ara Aharonian Excerpt from: Heroic Figures of A.D.L. (C)2006