The British Armenia committee and the Armenian question in the grip of war-intelligence-propaganda (1913-1923)

The major European states ensured that the Armenian issue was brought to the agenda as an international problem at the Berlin Congress of 1878. Leading the way on this issue, Britain abandoned its policy of balance and protection of the Ottoman Empire and directed its attention to the Christian elements of the Ottoman Empire. Although there are various internal and external reasons for the change in Britain's attitude, the policies of William Ewart Gladstone, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and a member of the Liberal Party, had a great influence. The anti-Turkish policy within the framework of Christian unity, which he initiated as a tool of his political career, became the established policy of England in the process. In accordance with this policy, necessary efforts were made to eliminate the Turks, who were characterised with negative adjectives such as barbarian and slaughterer, from Europe. As a part of these efforts, in 1903, British Liberal Party MPs from the Gladstone school such as Noel Buxton, James Bryce, Aneurin Williams and Aubrey Herbert established the Balkan Committee, citing the disturbances in the Balkans. The committee, which worked actively from 1903 to 1913, completed its mission after the Balkan Wars, which symbolised the complete separation of the Balkans from the Ottoman Empire. After completing its mission in the Balkans, the committee was transformed and this time turned its attention to another Christian element of the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians, and worked under the British Armenia Committee, which was established in 1913 with the same staff and objectives. The committee, which carried out active activities until 1923, worked as a sub-organisation of the British intelligence service and played a decisive role in Britain's Armenian policy, especially during World War I, when the Armenian issue was carried to the highest point. The British Armenia Committee, which was established with the support and knowledge of the British Government, generally acted in line with British State policies within the scope of its activities over a period of ten years. The committee, which defended the Armenians at the highest level during World War I and the War of Independence, lost its influence with developments such as the Turkish victory in the War of Independence, the Treaty of Lausanne and the establishment of the new Turkish Republic, and had to dissolve itself in 1924.