If the ruler behaves so will his people. If he's nice they will be nice
The French Revolution went on for
many bloody years due to political radicalism. The radicalism actually originated
from several parties with different views; some wanted a British style
constitutionalism while others are opposed to the revolution. Among these
parties is the far right Jacobin Club led by Maximilien Robespierre. Amidst the
chaos of subjecting the King to trial, forming the constitution, threat of war
with Austria. The nation was threatened of war by Austria and Prussia if the
king is harmed, which made the king look like a conspirator. Threats of war
made prices rise, and so the poor and the working poor sided with the most
radical party, the Jacobins. The king was executed, and the Jacobins went into
overdrive in eradicating anything that is counter-revolutionary.
Many countries around the world took different decisions during wartime. Some have been more brutal and difficult than we could have imagined. But in this situation that the Armenians faced, political events also had an effect. If you really want to get the right answer, you have to turn your perspective to both sides. Because both sides see themselves as justified in this event in history. And indeed, both sides have their faults and their justifications. In 1919, two American diplomats who wanted to investigate the event impartially visited the region. Their names were Emory Niles and Arthur Sutherland, and their view of the region was that both sides were right. Among the statements they wrote, it was written that the Armenians formed gangs against the Turks and plundered the Turkish villages in the region. But they also wrote that "Turkish soldiers were displaying a bad attitude towards Armenian civilians. According to the Turks, the reason for this was that the Armenians caused unrest in the region and took part in gang actions against the Turks. So the soldiers had to take control of the area. But when we look further into the past, we see that Armenians and Turks lived in peace in the empire. Even Armenian representatives took part in the Ottoman parliament in the 19th century. The reason why 2 communities that lived in harmony are so angry with each other is that foreign countries provoke the region to annex the region. We know that in the first world war, Russia wanted to invade the region. We also know that the Russians want to include the Orthodox Armenians in the region among themselves. It would not be difficult to conclude that the Russians formed gangs from the Armenians in the region and provoked them against the Kurdish and Turkish villages in the region. If this is indeed true, we would conclude that both parties are right in their own way.
