The Eternal Memory of the Twenty Heroes

By BARKEV TAVITIAN

Every year on June 15, the global Hnchakian family proudly and solemnly remembers the twenty titans who were hanged in 1915 in Beyazit Square, Istanbul, for the liberation of the Armenian people and the independence of Armenia. Their names are engraved in golden letters in the hearts and minds of every Hnchakian.

Why do the Twenty deserve such honor and reverence?

Because the Turkish tyrant, Talat, saw them as the greatest threat to both himself and the Ottoman Empire. They had decided to prevent the implementation of the Ittihadist regime’s plans, which involved committing genocide against the Armenian people. They resolved to sever the hands of the executioners—Talat, Enver, and Cemal—so that Armenians would not be slaughtered by them.

Because, in their ideologically refined thinking, there was no selfish interest that prioritized personal gain over national interest. The Turks had failed to “buy” them.

Because they were revolutionaries, whose actions struck terror into the nationalist and autocratic figures of Europe and Asia at that time. They were soldiers of an army that fought not only for the oppressed Armenians but also for the oppressed Turks, Kurds, and Arabs.

Yet tragically, they became victims of treachery at the hands of an Armenian informant—a scoundrel named Artur Yasian who betrayed them.

At that time, Istanbul was filled with Armenian informants. Alongside secular informants, there were also clergy. In 1890, the Patriarch of Istanbul, Ashekian, was the target of an assassination attempt by Hnchakians, as he was considered an accomplice of the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid. In 1914, when the Twenty were arrested, Artur Yasian was not alone. He was aided by numerous clerical and civilian informants, reportedly including Bishop Simon, Vartabed Mampré, Vartabed Dajad, Priest Sukias, the sexton Khachig, and civilians such as lawyer Khachig Bedrossian, Anastas Haroutioun Natourian, Armenag Hayguni, and others.

Unfortunately, the situation today bears disturbing similarities. Armenian traitors continue to undermine and endanger Armenia’s independence, driven by a desire to serve Vladimir Putin and Russia. Just as Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey harmed the Armenians with his sword, Putin has sacrificed Armenian interests for his own benefit. Clergy and political figures continue to operate under the guise of patriotism while working against Armenia’s modernization, its fight against corruption, its efforts to open to the world, free itself from exploitation, and establish peace and prosperity for its people.

The Twenty were soldiers of their ideology, fighting against injustice and tyranny with their pen and their words. They became symbols of liberation and reform for their nation. Their collective martyrdom on the gallows was a unique event, meant by the Turks to demonstrate to their people—and to the world—that anyone fighting for a free and independent Armenia would meet a violent end. They were not criminals—even the Turkish judge who sentenced them acknowledged this when he said to them: “What could men like you not have done if you had worked for the public good of this country?”

The Twenty are heroes, “forever carved on the rock of time,” and many poems have been written in their honor. One of the most renowned is by Lebanese-Armenian intellectual and poet Garnik Attarian, titled Bayazid, in which he writes:

In their eyes I saw no trace of retreat,
Pride there was, gleaming, unyielding,
Only a few had tears frozen under their eyelids,
– How young they were, and how bitter life was then.

Still, from afar, I heard their iron steps,
Carved forever on the rock of time,
Then I saw how they ascended,
Their flawless faces tracing the horizon.

Glory forever to the TWENTY, carved in our thoughts and hearts.