Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎170v] (340/544)

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* E.C. 2302.
is an area mainly inhabitated by Armenians. I do not suppose any of us has any exact
figures as to the proportions of the populations there, but my own opinion, is. t lat,
particularly in view of the devastation wrought by these massacres and by the men ents
of war, the Armenians would be in a decided minority in that area, and you uouk n
that Turks, Kurds, Afghans, and all sorts of people of other Asiatic races, constitute
the majority of the population. I merely point that out because this large area is one
which seems to me to be greatly in excess of anything that could possibly be deinaiK ec
by the numerical strength of the Armenians.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : I have some figures about the Armenians. I do not
know if you would like to have them now.
LORD CURZON : We will have them presently. I am just going briefly through
this. That, I understand, is the Foreign Office case. i u
Then there are other great authorities on the subject, of whom Commander Hoga’
is one, whose Paper' ::: ‘ has been before us, who advocate a very much smallei Armenia,
practically moving the Armenians from the northern areas down to the south and
concentrating them in, or in the neighbourhood of, Cilicia. Even this smaller area
southwards, to which I am now coming, will include many non-Armenian elements, but
their number in relation to the Armenians will be nothing like so great and. the
proportion will not be anything like so large as if we contemplated a larger Armenia on
the lines of the Foreign Office memorandum. I may indicate the lines of the smallei
Armenia suggested by Commander Hogarth, who has a wide acquaintance with this
region, probably greater than any of the authorities who have ad\isetl us. He
suggested that the smaller Armenia should start from the mouth of the Geuk i^u, which
is close to Mersina, that it should then run along the line of the Taurus and the Anti-
Taurus to Geurun on the Tokma Su, which is in the heart of the country. Ihe line
should then run to Divrik, to the north, then south to Kharput, and down the
Euphrates, to Birijik, and then to Alexandretta Bay near a place marked on the map
called Payas. I need not further pursue the limits of this region, but, looking at it
from the geographical point of view, there are these two distinct suggestions, the one for
a laiger, and the other for a smaller, Armenia, bo much for geography and boundaries.
As I said, there is a second big question, as to which of the Great Powers shonld
be the mandatory to carry out these arrangements and to exercise a tutelage over the
Armenians in this period of trouble and probation. In accordance with our general
policy of self-determination I imagine we shall agree that the Armenians must be them
selves the deciding factor as regards their future. But here again it. is extremely difficult
to discover the means by which we can ascertain what the Armenians leally desire. I
imaodne that if the Armenian population, both at home and scattered, were polled, in all
probability they would opt for this country. But I should not like myself to spend
much time in discussing that aspect of the case, for two reasons. In the first place we
have already—and, whatever happens at the Peace Conference, we shall have in the
future—far too much upon our own hands in those parts of the world to be able to under
take any responsibility so colossal as that of being responsible for the future of the
Armenian State. And later on, when we come to the question of the Caucasus, 1 shall
endeavour to show how the treatment of Armenia probably carries with it the treat
ment of the Caucasus, and that the responsibilities assumed for the one, would almost
inevitably lead to the assumption of similar, and, perhaps, even more, onerous responsi
bilities with regard to the other. I therefore imagine that no one in this Committee
will look with very friendly eyes upon the idea of our undertaking this great task.
Only two other Powers are possible. I rule out the smaller Powers, because it is
quite obvious that they have neither the resources nor the forces, neither the moral nor
the political prestige, which would enable them to undertake a task of this description.
They are fully concerned in looking after their own boundaries and interests without
embarking upon tasks of difficulty in the heart of Asia. The only two remaining great
Powers that we need seriously consider are Prance and America. France has
undoubtedly, if we are to attach value, as she does, to the Sykes-Pi.cot Agreement,
acquired a direct political interest in the future of some, at any rate, of the Armenian
vilayets. What her feelings or susceptibilities may be about the matter l do not know.
It may be she would be willing to undertake the custody of Armenia ; and the. I oreign
Office in several papers have very powerfully argued that there would be nothing more
to our interest than to divert her from ambitions, very often inconvenient to ourselves
and unpalatable to the Arabs, in the more southerly regions of Syria and Arabia, and
send her ofl on a more northerly mission to the Armenian parts of the country. A