Επιστολή του Α.Πάλλη προς την Κεντρική Επιτροπή Εθνικών Πατριωτικών Οργανώσεων για τις διώξεις που υφίστανται οι Έλληνες στην Τουρκία και για τις δηλώσεις Άγγλων Υπουργών ότι ο πόλεμος διεξάγεται για την διατήρηση της ελευθερίας των μικρών λαών.

Copy Aigburth Drive Liverpool December 5th 1914 Sir, In the appeal which was communicated to the public on November 21st over the signatures of Mr Asquith, Lord Rosebery, Mr Halfour, Mr Cust, Mr Prothero, Lord Ridley and Mr Waldorf Astor there appears the following statement:- "We fight not alone in defence of our existence and freedom, but for the right of small nations to enjoy the same freedom, and for civilisation and democracy as we understand them. The enemy threatens to destroy these and to substitute for them the rule and methods of a ruthless militarism." There is no country in the world in which the rule and methods of a ruthless militarism are so completely practised as in Turkey. There the Turks constitute a small minority, and a military caste recruited from this minority holds all power, extorts funds from the majority in or- der to keep up the army, and by means of the army savagely tyrannises ov- er the majority. This has been the history of Turkey for centuries, but its military tyranny has been enormously intensified since 1908 when the so- called Constitution was proclaimed. Since that time even Courts of Just- ice have been practically abolished, and justice is in the hands of the military who use it for their own purposes. What the non-Turkish nation- alities, chiefly the Christian, endure is beyond all description. In this very year not less than 250,000 Ottoman citizens of Greek nationality have been driven into exile by ferocious military persecutions, and their homes and goods confiscated. They are now practically starving in Greece which is too poor adequately to support them. From the Turkish point of view this persecution has been a distinct success, because it has failed to move Europe, and indeed there has been a methodical, and apparently fruitful, attempt in England to justify it. It is therefore to be expected that when the Turkish tyrants have done with the Greeks, they will turn their attention to the Armenian and other non-Turkish communities. In the case of Turkey, therefore, we have before us (1) an aggra- vated form of militarism, and (2) small nationalities which far from enjoy- ing freedom are ruthlessly robbed and oppressed. I am sure that the desire of the people of this country, in ac- cordance with the noble sentiments expressed in the words quoted at the beginning of this letter, is that the State of Turkey should be destroyed. But how is this desire to be reconciled with what Sir Edward Grey tele- graphed to Sir Louis Mallet (No 21 in White Paper respecting events lead- ing to rupture of relations with Turkey) viz:- "I told the Turkish Ambassador that Turkey will have nothing to fear from us and that her integrity will be preserved in any conditions of peace which affected the Near East." By this promise England practically offered to guarantee Turk- is h militarism and the oppression of small nationalities. I venture to put this matter before your Committee, because the Turkish State is influentially backed in this country, and it is to be