LEAGUE OF NATIONS G on sva^C, 291 r 19£ •J-m c ItSth lOo-i-. APMBmiï R3FÜGB38 IN C-PEECE,

Cogjnuriictît i on from the_G re er: Rearegentutivs ,

N etc b_7 the Scr. r et&r^ • - G rr iK-.’al

The f o 1 j.o**ring le tte r from the G-rcuic Reprusuntative forwarding a statement and correspond once on this subject is circulated

to the Council.

1 , Letter fro-n the Representative of the Greek Government

to the Seoret»ry-'-Goaeralo Translation., Geneva. June 12th 19£

O -•» VJ .!. i.

I have tne noaour to forward to you a copy of the

Memorsnd uni which I commuaieatcd to the Co un:;i ^ d ur i ng tn:-.s morning?b meeting.

In "cnj.u Me.noranuurn I pointea out to thc. Mumbai» of

the Council th a t the Groutc Government cannot; though i t would

gladly do so, continue to assist several thousand necessitous

Armenian refugee», in view of the great difficulty it finds in providing relief for refugees of GrecK rauuo

With reference to the Gr eca Governments statement in

the attached Memorandum, I am sure that the Grech Government,

•being desirousv as I have a?. ready btat-ed. of doing its best to

promote the welfare of Armenian refugees by securing productive

work fc r them in other countries, would be prepared to make a

very considerable contribution towards trie cost of the traiiupox-

of refugees emigrating to other countries, and that it would

also be prepared to malee the necessary arrangements for the evacuation of refugees.

I att sure that my Gowrnaicat will be grateful for the message of sympathy which has been expressed by the Council, It would also be glad if th e High Commiseioner for Refugees could be requested to place at its disposal the services of his organisa­ tion in Oruecc , in order that any work undertaken on behalf of the

Armenian refugees may be coordinated in the light of the experienc which he has gained in connection with the evacuation of ths

Russian refugees from .

fSigaed ) ARGYR0?GUI0S

Representative of the Greek Government accredited to the Council of the League of Nations. ~ b ~

uvTr.i03Al!DUI.l.

The Greek Government fe e ls oblige & to draw the a t tent ion. of the Council of the League c£ Nations to the citn>- bi: of the

Armenian refugees in .

After the disaster in a;3ia Minor a large number of

^rncenians took refuge in Greece; according to the et&tistico of the Ministry of Public belief there are about 65,000.

These come from

a) that part of Asia Minor which was occupied by the

Greek Array ;

b) the Black C.. . d is tr ic ts ;

c) , which they were obliged to leave after the evacuation of this province by the French troops,

Their present situation is as follows:

a) Several foreign organisations assist a eex : ^ 1:1 number of them, particularly orphans an I unprotected women,

b) A small number have been able to find work i'nd ad art themselves to local conditions., But this number is very limited, as the influée of Greek refugees is so great thah in is materially impossible for the country to absorb the Armenians also-

c) It is impossible to arrange for the permanent settle­ ment of the Armenians in Greece, for the following reasons;

l) For the reason just stated, i.e., that the native population cannot assimilate them in consequence of the great influx of refugees.. Moreover, it is only natural that the

Armenians should resist assimilation and should jealously cling to their nationality after all their disesters, But the consequence is the creation of a new m inorities problem in Greek te r rito r y , end this we consider undesirable from every point of view, ~ 4 -

2 ) For want of sprees ; the re is no room, e ith e r in the

country or in the towns*

3) For want of money

The Greek Government has spent about 70,000,000 dr»,

or about £280,000. on the coil voyance , temporary shelter and

relief of the Armenians, Such expenditure cannot continue »

In any case, the Government w ill bo unable to assume,

in addition to this temporary relief, the burden of providing for the settlement of the so ..rmenians. According to the

statistics, ct end the i>^'aous alone 906 new houses, built for Greek refugees, are sheltering 5,599 Armenians• *n all probability, we shall not be able to allow them to remain,

4) We would like to point out that the settlement of these refugees would be effected at the expense of the native population; the property loft behind by the Turks is barely sufficient for the settlement of 4Of; of the refugees, The remaining refugees are aettlcc by expropriating lands, and often buildings, belonging to the inhabitants of the country, and these expropriations are particularly irksome to the population, as the Government cannot pay cash compensation,

It will be realised that these measures are very burdensome, and cannot easily be imposed on Greek peasants and townspeople 3 In the case of their follow countrymen, they do not object ; but i t would be hopeless to ask them - or compel them - to make such a sa c rific e for the benefit of foreigners, however deep may be th e ir sympathy fo r the unfort una t e Armenian people ,

The Greek Government therefore feels it to be absolutely ~ 5 -

essential that sonic tiling should he done to assure the Arnsnians

of a livelihood by enabling them to settle permanently c V/o would offer a suggestion,,

A very large number of them - hew many is not certain - might be transferred to the Caucrrsuso This question might, we think, be considered without delay, Â few months ago the London

Committee sounded the Greek Government and the refugee Settlement

Commission on this point, and the Greek Government, being anxious to assist to the best of its ability in settling the refugees, stated that it would be willing to defray part of the cost of transport, provided that Greek vessels were employed so that the

Greek Government would not be obliged to pay in cash. Copies of tho three letters which were excharget’ on this subject arc attached

This is not the only possible suggestion, and the

Greek Government would be glad to a s s is t to the best of i t s a b ility in any other solution which might be found,

The Greek Government would lay emphasis on the following points only:-

1) The urgent need of arranging for the settlement of the

Armenian refu g ees,

2) The impossibility of settling them in Greece,

5) The inability of the Greek government to continue to harbour and assist the Armenian refugees as hitherto, -ô-

III. L etter fror.: the Greek Refugee Settlem ent Commissioi to H. Pep anas fcasJLcu, Princ M inister, Athens »

■yrrri sir ti on. Athene,

April 5rd, 1924.

Your Excellency:

With reference to M* Arg;yropoulos' vcrbr 1 communicatioii

to you regarding the proposal of the Armenian Cor:: ittes in

London to tra n sfe r to Sardarebî in the Caucasus 50,000

Armenians who are at present refugees in Greece, I have

the honour to send you a copy of a l e t t e r on th is

subject which I have received from Mr. Harold Buxton,

writing on the Committee's behalf.

I should be g ra te fu l i f you would inform me whether the

Greek Government approves the suggested plan, and also

whether it would be prepared to undertake part of the cost of

transferring these refugees to the Caucasus.

I fully realise what heavy sacrifices the Greek

Government has already made in i t s e ffo rts on behalf of

the refugees, but in venturing to apply to it for further

help I would point out that your Government will in this

way be relieved from any further responsibility for these

refugees - a prospect which it cannot but regard with

satisfaction.

You were good enough to inform me through !.. ...rgyropoulos

that you agreed in principle to this proposal, but I should

be grateful if you would kindly authorise me to forward your

roply to London.

f Signed ) 1,1. IIEGROPOHi'Z

For the Secretary General. -7-

IV. letter fro;.: the Secret; ry of the Armenian Refugees (Lord Layer’ g Fund to h r. horgenthau.

xiond on,

harch 26th, 1924

;Iy deer hr- l.iorgent-hau:

I,o doubt you are fu lly aware of tiie proposals which have been made to transfer 50,000 Armenian refugees fro. Greece to the district of Sard;rabad in the aussi: n Caucasus. This Sche:..e vac discussed at the Council of the League It st S._ptenber ana a ré s o lu tion was passed aoprovir.g the scher.e and in v itin g the aid of the various Lie fibers of the League. It G-mens to me that if this Scheme could be c.. rried into effect, th.: situation in Greece, with regard to the refugees, would be consider: bly eased and I im agine, th erefo re, th at your Excellency and the Li embers of your Corn: is si on would favour the re: sliati on of this project ? Our group of British friends has considered the matter very carefully and has cone to the conclusion tm t it should lend such aid as ic within its power to the hneenian National Delegation in this project.

I notice on page 5 of the Report of the Refugees' Settle­ ment Commission, (Geneva, Liar eh 6 th , 19 24 ) the statement that there are now some 60,000 Armenian refugees in Greece. Of these, no doubt, a considerable number '..'ill remain in Greel: te rrito ry or will migrate to the ./estera lands. I am informed also that a considerable number ere willing to go to the Russian Caucasus to become colonists in the little Republic of Erivrn. Ae hope that they will receive encouragement in this plan if the necess­ ary funds can be raised to enable them to emigrate.

Lie Armenian Rational Delegation (headed by hr » Roradoun-

ghian) is u ow convine ed , a fte r careful i ii v esti g a t i on, t ha t c on- ditior.s in the Russian Ca.ucasus are suffi ciently satisfictory to ju stify the s e 111 e < 'eut Of bheir refuge es in this area. The Govern .cut of the U.S. C • -A • 1 o f: vourably disposed to ; • ards the project m the b e lie f the 4-o > oy t t this .mans t he eroduction of

cotton will be inerea s d .

The Lord hayor1s Fund had its British agents in Lrivin during the past 5 years and I ay se lf paid a. v is it there in 1928. Ac have already established in thr t country about 7,000 Armenian refugees whom we conveyed from ilesopotamir and these colonists bee;me self-sup porting within a period of about 12 months.

The crux of the whole matter lies, of course, ie finance. Re are at this moment ashing for a grant towards this Scheme from the B ritish Government and U. It or ad ounghi an is hopeful of obtaining generous contributions from the me ni an colonies in t n e ./est • -3-

oIO’l Tho attitude of the Ilefagees' Co th is Scheme must be, oi' course „ a matee, Ox u - J tow ard s you cr.fc v,n t ,.-vini i be vary gratexvl go y oar IB G Vi the vi ewe of yourself and of your w.l j. ’-u<7U0S wi 11 le t mo js.auv in f , " r 0 m atter. Believe me to be, T o ur E.r.0 ell en c y, Yours veiy sincerely,

(3d.) Harold BUXTON Hen.Secretary, 4 i -9-

V. Re ply from the Greek Prime Llir.ister to the S e 111 ement G omm i 5 si on.

Froi.: : h r. L . Pcpana s t r s si ou (Prime- L in io ter)

In reply to your l e t t e r 1518 of the 3rd in s t. we htvc the honour to inform you that elthough the Financial situation of the State is rt ther difficult, we gladly recept that the Greek Government participates part of the expenses for the transport of the Armenian Refugees mentioned th erein. LM 3US 0? HATIOIÏS# G . 291.1924* AD?33JDÜL£ Geneva, 14th. June 1924 .

EEFU0ÎSS3 HT GTtB^G E.

Cormronicat i on from the Greek Kepresentat ive . Page 5, after line 13 insert following paragraph: - n The League might approach immigration countries with a view to the transfer of large numbers of Armenian Refugees to those countries and their settlement «"