The three great powers (Great Britain, France, and Russia), backed by
Germany, Austria, and Italy, had demanded that Sultan Abdul Hamid II
introduce the reforms in the “provinces inhabited by Armenians,” as
stipulated by the Treaty of Berlin (1878) in what was called the
Armenian Reform Program of May 11, 1895. The refusal of the sultan to
carry the reforms led the Social Democratic Hnchakian Party to stage
the demonstration of Bab Ali (Great Door or Sublime Porte) in
Constantinople on September 30, 1895.
The party was represented in the Ottoman capital by the Board of
Directors, that give instructions for nearly all party activity in
Turkey with the approval of general headquarters at Geneva, and the
Executive Committee, which directed the organization work according to
the instructions of the Board of Directors.
The Executive Committee chose three men to supervise the demonstration
after receiving the order from the Board of Directors. The leader was
Garo Sahakian. After various discussions, the Board of Directors
decided that the demonstration should be peaceful. Months of
preparations were ended on September 28, when the Hnchakian Party
presented a letter in French to the foreign embassies and to the
Turkish government. The letter stated that the demonstration would be
“of a strictly peaceful character” and would be aimed to express
Armenian wishes with regard to the reforms. It added that “the
intervention of the police and military for the purpose of preventing
it may have regrettable consequences, for which we disclaim beforehand
all responsibility.”
The demonstration took place two days later. The Turkish government
had taken security measures; soldiers were posted on the streets around
administrative buildings, and the police were alerted. Around noon,
the Hnchakian leaders entered the Armenian Patriarchate, from where
they led thousands of demonstrators to the palace of the Sultan.
Garo Sahakian, head of the demonstration, was to present the petition
to the Sultan on behalf of both the Armenians of Constantinople and of
the six Armenian provinces. The petition, written by the Hnchakian
Board of Directors, complained against massacres, unjust arrests,
Kurdish injustices, corruption of tax collectors, and the massacre in
Sasun (1894). It demanded: (a) equality before the law; freedom of the
press; freedom of speech; and freedom of assembly; (b) right of habeas corpus
to all persons under arrest, and permission to Armenians to bear arms
if the Kurds could not be disarmed; (c) a redrawing of the six Armenian
provinces; (d) an European governor for the provinces; and (e)
financial and land reforms.
Garo Sahakian and some demonstrators, after reaching the gates of Bab
Ali, were denied entrance by the officer in charge, and Sahakian was
seized by the zaptiehs (Turkish police). Brought before a Turkish
official, he was imprisoned after delivering the petition. Fighting and
violence had already broken out. Hundreds of demonstrators were
arrested on that day and for several days ensuing. The prisons became
crowded with wounded men and scores of dead bodies were collected from
the streets of Constantinople.
The rioting and bloodshed in Constantinople alarmed the Turkish
government and disturbed Europe. The Ottoman Council of Ministers
assembled to discuss the situation, while some of the leading European
papers gave much attention to the rioting in Constantinople. Finally,
pressure by European governments induced Sultan Abdul Hamid to sign the
Armenian Reform Program on October 17, 1895, about a month after the
bloody demonstration. The Hnchakian Revolutionary Party considered this
a great victory. However, this signature did not bring peace to
Ottoman Armenians. Like so many decrees by the Sultan, this one too
became a dead letter.
