In 1915, there were high-ranking Turkish officials in the Ottoman Empire who risked their lives and the lives of their relatives and rejected the monstrous plan of Talaat, Enver and the other Young Turk criminals.

Ani Center for Armenian Studies presents the tragic fate of one of them, Mustafa agha Azizoglu. Mustafa agha (Azizoglu) was the mayor of Malatia. He wasn’t able to prevent the migration and massive slaughter of the Armenians, but he did manage to hide some Armenians in his house.

His son, active and obsessive member of the “Ittihat ve Teraki” Party killed him for “taking care of gyavurs (infidels)”. As we list the other individuals who disobeyed, we must recall Kastemon’s governor Reshit Pasha, Erzerum’s governor Tahsin Bey, Basra’s governor Ferit Bey and Yozghat’s regional governor Mehmed Jemal Bey and Batman’s regional governor Sabit Bey.

These officials were dismissed and were replaced with more obedient civil servants who perpetrated the beastly plans to annihilate the Armenians.

During the years of the Armenian Genocide, Mayor of Lije city of Diyarbakir Husein Nesimi Bey (see “Traitor” Turk-Husein Nesimi Bey), Aleppo’s and later Konia’s governor Djelal Bey (see Djelal Bey, a Turk with remorse and a spirit, who didn’t perpetrate his part of Talaat monstrous plan), Ankara’s vali (governor) Hasan Mazhar Bey (see Hasan Mazhar Bey –Ankara’s vali, who defended the Armenians in 1915), Kyotahia’s governor Fayik Alin (Ozansoy) (see Fayik Ali (Ozansoy), he refused to fulfill Talaat’s order in 1915) also defended the Armenians or didn’t fulfill the orders of the Young Turk criminals.