The Vatican declassified documents on the Armenian genocide
The Vatican began to publish secret documents stored in the it’s archives. They relate to events that occurred about 400 years ago, beginning in 1621. The oldest of them dates back to the 8th century, HaberTurk reported.
The exhibition of 100 secret documents, including materials related to the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, is at the Capitol Museum and will be open until September of this year.
According to the Director of the Vatican Secret Archive, Bishop Sergio Pagano, the documents contain colossal information about Armenians. Regarding the Armenian Genocide, Pagano noted that the published documents testify to the brutal torture Armenians were subjected to by the Turkish army.
In the summer of 2011, Pagano stated that these documents would be presented at the Vatican Archives Lux exhibit hall (Arcane) in February 2012. He reported that in 1896, Pope Leo XIII urged Sultan Abdul-Hamid to show compassion and to end the genocide of Armenians. Pagano stated that about one hundred documents on the Armenian genocide, including written testimonies from the Vatican archives about the actions of Turkish soldiers, will be published in a separate volume.
He presented excerpts from this book, including the testimony of a Turkish soldier Mustafa Suleiman:
“We went into Armenian villages and killed everyone in a row, making no difference in sex or age. The Kurds came after us robbed the Armenian homes. Many elderly and disabled hid in a school in the center of the village, but we were ordered to kill them all. 800 Armenians were killed or burned in the village of Geliegyuzan. Father Hovanes had his eyes pierced, beard, nose and ears cut off. I didn’t kill children myself – I even saved two Armenians. I hid them in my tent for three days, but one day I entered there and saw their immortal bodies… »
“These documents cause inexpressible pain and horror. Reports of atrocities committed by Turks against Armenians made me feel ashamed of others,” the Bishop said.
