b 1*7 As 1919 WHITE BOOK THE DODECANESE Resolutions and Documents concerning the Dodecanese 1912-1919 SECOND EDITION WITH A MAP OF THE DODECANESE. WHITE BOOK THE DODECANESE Resolutions and Documents concerning the Dodecanese 19i2-19i9 &7 WHITE BOOK THE DODECANESE Resolutions and Documents concerning the Dodecanese 1912-1919 M304340 Lemnos w Loura Mitylene Eresosi — r*r o&-je G E A I " 5urun <^o Psara a , 77/70$ [/^^fijydra Nicana/y j -s QlxFburni Thermit Synjbfr"* ty£> •^^ \ V fiolrv! ^&°y $ z * ^„^« Antiparos or O fiu/A of faros tenosa Polykandro jit Hen NiO ■J ■ Sym Tilos% \ (t7aphrania %tyJRhodesW / ^ Cerigotto jSare \ C.Krio burgunta Karpathosw / \»J a €3MmEo R (CAimM C^Stondia "Retimo w - Cona/fl \„ # ngsos / \ Q Koupho English Mites \ CONTENTS. Page Preface to the Second Edition 7 Preface '9 I. PLEBISCITES OP THE DODECANESE : Plebiscite of Nisyros 13 „ Cos 14 ,, Cassos 14 ,, Patmos 15 ,, Rhodes 16 „ Leros 17 ,, Tilos 18 „ Symi 19 ,, Astypalea 20 „ Halki 21 ,, Carpathos 22 ,, Calymnos 22 II. DOCUMENTS : Memorandum to the British Ambassador 27 .. ,, ,, American Ambassador ...... 28 ,, ,, French Ambassador 28 ,, „ ,, Italian Ambassador 29 ,, ,, H. R. H. the Duke of Connaught .... 30 Reply to the latter 31 Memorandum to the Italian Ambassador 32 ,, submitted by the Bishops of the Dodecane- sians to the President of their League . 33 Telegram to Marshall Foch 35 ,, „ Mr. Venizelos 35 ,, ,, the American Ambassador 36 ,, ,, ,, Italian Ambassador 36 ., „ ,, President of the League of the Dodeca- nesians 37 Letter to the President of the League of the Dodeca- nesians 37 G Contents.— continued. Page Letter to the Treasurer of the League of the Dodeca- nesians 38 Letter to the President of the League of the Dodeca- nesians 40 Resolution of Dodecanesian Refugees 40 Telegram to President Wilson 42 Memorandum to Mr. Lloyd George 43 ,, .. M. Clemenceau 44 Letter from the Prime Minister's Office 45 Memorandum to Mr. Balfour \ ... 46 Letter from the Foreign Office 47 48 CONTENTS OF THE NEW DOCUMENTS. Memorandum to Mr. E. Venizelos 51 to Mr. N. Politis 56 ,, to the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs . 58 ,, to President Wilson 50 Letter from President Wilson 60 „ Mr. Balfour 01 ,, Lord Milner 61 ,, Mr. Lloyd George 62 „ the Foreign Office 63 ,, Lord Robert Cecil 63 Telegram from the League of the Dodecanesians in Egypt . 6 'i Memorandum to President Wilson 65 ,, to Mr. Lloyd George 66 „ to Mr. Clemenceau 67 Telegram to Mr. Balfour 68 Letter from Mr. Lloyd George 70 PREFACE SECOND EDITION. The first edition of the White Book of the Dodecanese being now completely exhausted we have decided to publish a second edition. To this we prefix a map of the Twelve Islands to assist the reader. Sixteen new documents have been added at the end of the book. The Representatives of the Dodecanese, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris J. Roussos. *&&** PREFACE— FIRST EDITION. • ' After the fall of Constantinople — our capital — the Do- decanese, tiny and impotent as they were, seeing their elder sisters, heroic Crete, Samos, Chios, Mitylene, succumb the one after the other, could not resist any longer and were forced to submit to the Turks in 1522, under whose yoke they remained up to the 22nd of April, 1912. During all those centuries of constant persecution, repeated massacres and unceasing martyrdom, they kept intact their national consciousness, their Greek usages and customs, language, and religion. One after the other, the islands of the Dodecanese succeeded in gradually getting rid of the heavy and terrible Turkish yoke; they participated in the great Greek Re- volution of 1821 and on the establishment of a free Greek Kingdom, would have been included in the latter, had it not been for the fact that the islands nearest to Greece were chosen instead. But the Dodecanese were allowed full autonomy, paying very small taxes to Turkey — Patmos only one pound annually — and they were granted special consular offices even in Constantinople up to April 22nd, 1912, when the Dodecanese came under the tempo- rary occupation of Italy, which thus compelled Turkey to yield in the matter of Tripoli. During the Greco-Turkish war which broke out soon after, all these large islands surrounding the Dodecanese were liberated in the space of a few hours by the Greek Fleet ; but the Italian occupation proved an obstacle to our liberation, and the granting of our freedom was postponed till after the conclusion of the present great war. # * # We would like to enlighten public opinion in this country about the Dodecanese, our country, by publishing these official documents. The latter show clearly our national aspirations and feelings after the Italian occupation and before the world war. We also publish those documents which, exchanged in the most critical moments of the war, when the Germans were nearly facing 9 Paris, prove that we, the Dodecanesians, not only were not in the least overawed by the various vicissitudes of the great contest, but have from the first, repeatedly expressed to the Entente and to America our lively sympathies, and persistently asked of them, by writing, verbally and by telegram, that we may be allowed the privilege and the honour of fighting by their side and of dying for the sake of the deliverance of the peoples and for civilization. The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos. 10 NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS OF THE DODECANESIANS I. PLEBISCITES OF THE DODECANESIANS IN FAVOUR OF THEIR UNION WITH GREECE PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF NISYROS. The inhabitants of the island of Nisyros seeing that, against all expectation, their permanent desires are not realised, owing principally to the action of the Italian Government and in spite of all the formal promises made by the latter, through their official organs, that never would the islands be restored to the Turkish yoke, held a mass meeting to-day, the 17/30th of December, 1912, and unanimously resolved and decided the following : 1.- We protest against the intentions of the Italian Govern- ment concerning the handing over to the Turkish yoke of the twelve islands. 2.- We protest with all our strength against the suggestion in certain Italian papers, that the islanders would rather remain under Italy or be autonomous, than unite with Greece. 3.- We proclaim again that our unique wish and permanent desire is union with Greece, our Mother Country. This solution alone can ensure peace and tranquillity in the islands, because the islanders have often manifested their sentiments for union with Greece and even cooperated, as soldiers with the Greek Army, in the War against Turkey. 4.- We hold the European Powers responsible for the pain- ful consequences should our desires remain unrealised. 5.- That the present resolution should be sent to their Excellencies Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary and President of the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, to Mr. Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece, to Mr. Giolitti, Prime Minister of Italy and to the Consul of the Greek Government in Rhodes. Made, signed and sealed. The Councillors. The Mayors. J. Fascoularidis, G. Vayatis, Od. Sakellaridis. J. G. Katsimatides, F. Philippou, A. Antapassis, J. Fotiades, D. Kambourakis, N. Zambetis. D. J. Chartofyllis, The Metropolitan Delegate Milt. Nikitiadis. Archimandrite Kyrillos. The Secretaries The Priests G. Sakellaris, P. J. Papatos, B. Costaras, P. Apostolos Fasoularis, N. M. Skourtos. P. N. Protopapas, The Notables and the People Pap. Constantinos. (Signatures follow) 15 PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF COS. All the people of the capital and of the island of Cos having come together on the 20th of December 1912, and in view of the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, on the one hand, and the Peace Conference of the Balkan States on the other, both of which will seal the fate of the islands of the Aegean Sea, including this island of ours, temporarily occupied by Italy, have unanimously decided the following. 1.- They repudiate any suggestion of going back under the Turkish rule which they loathe and consider as the greatest of misfortunes. 2.- They again express their unalterable and centuries-old aspirations to unite with Greece their motherland, and form an indivisible part of the kingdom of Greece. 3.- They declare that if their appeal is not heard, they will rise, at all costs, against the return of Turkish sovereignty — under any form whatsoever, — even that of autonomy. 4.- They solicit the undivided help of your Excellency for our union with Greece our motherland. For five centuries we have cherished these aspirations which, generation after generation, the inhabitants of Cos have preserved undiminished and have pro- claimed repeatedly before God and man. To-day they are asking the international recognition and ratification of their national establishment. Cos, December 20th, 1912. [Follow the signatures of the inhabitants of the city and the villages of Asfendu, Pyliu, Antimachia, Cardameni, Kefalou, with the signatures and the seals of their respective councils]. The Bishop of Cos, The Mayor of Cos, AGATHANGELOS. M. PARTHENIADIS. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF CASSOS. The people of the Island of Cassos being unable to refrain any longer from manifesting their national aspirations, which they have been cherishing from time immemorial, have voted the following resolutions. 1G 1.- They proclaim their longed-for union with Greece their motherland. 2.- They convey the present resolution concerning union, by means of their representatives to the London Conference pf the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, to the Peace Representa- tives of the Balkan States in London, and to the Greek Foreign Office ; and 3.- They warmly beseech Their Excellencies to approve and further their just and time-honoured aspirations. They express their heart-felt gratitude for the benevolent protection of their just aspirations which they are sure they will secure. In Gassos, on the 29th of December, 1912. The Representatives, M. G. Minacoulis, G. Em. Sakellis, K. Sakellis, N. Papadopoulos. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF PATMOS. The whole civilized world knows the pitiable state of all the lands over which Turkey rules. Our island is no exception to this, and we its inhabitants have often before unanimously mani- fested our desire for union with Greece our mother country, as being the only remedy for this situation. To-day, when again by God's consent an end is going to be put to this state of affairs, in the Capital of Great Britain, a new era of enlightened and civilised government will dawn for us as our fortunes also are being discussed in the London Conference by the ambassadors of the Great Powers. We have the honour of hopefully submitting to you our unalterable and unique desire, which we manifested in many ways, to achieve the union of our island with the MOTHER LAND, to which we are united by bonds of blood, religion, and language, and which no influence — not even the all-conquering time — can relax. We remain with profound respect. In Patmos, December 30th, 1912. On behalf of the people of Patmos, whom we have the honour to represent, The Town Councillors, Theodore Gazis, Emm. Magoulas, George Cocakis, G. Criticos, D. B. Stamoulis, Dem. Kaia'izis. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF RHODES. We, the undersigned inhabitants of the capital and of all the villages of the island of Rhodes, referring to our previous petition dated December 22nd, 1912, sent by the Town Council upon our order to the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, which met to discuss the question of the islands of the Aegean and where our fate will be sealed, resolve the following: 1.- We strongly protest against the intentions of the Govern- ment of the liberal Italian Nation, who, according to what has been published in the Italian Press, are still contemplating to give back our islands, under some form or other, to Turkey whose memory alone fills us with terror. 2.- We express our deepest regret, and we protest against a portion of the Italian Press which, owing to interested motives, misrepresents our real political views and pretends that we prefer Italian or any other foreign sovereignty or even autonomy under any form, to Union with Greece our Motherland. 3.- We proclaim our Hellenic sentiments, manifested always through our participation as soldiers in the wars of liberation wa&ed by Greece, our Motherland, against Turkey, through public contribution, by hoisting the Greek flag throughout the island, and by all other means. 4.- We proclaim and reiterate our immutable decision to unite with Greece at all costs. This union is our unique natural and permanent desire. We repudiate every other solution. 5.- We declare that our union with Greece is the only solution which will ensure to us lasting peace, tranquillity, well- being and progress. 6.- We solicit from the liberal representatives of the Great Powers their kindly support and sympathy. We request of them, to restore peace upon our island through our union with Greece, in compliance with the principle of nationalities and the spirit of Western civilization. 7.- We entrust the Town Council of the Capital with the handing over of a copy of our present plebiscite to : a. His Excellency Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, b. His Excellency Mr. Giolitti, Prime Minister of Italy, and c. His Excellency Mr. El. Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece, and we solicit their kindly support. 18 The present plebiscite was held and signed in Rhodes on the 21st of December, 1912. The Town Councillors, J. S. Papadopoulos, N. Georgiades, D. Anastasiades, S. Pavlidis, Th. Frarakis, S. Paraskevas. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF LEROS. The inhabitants of the Island of Leros, having all assembled to-day, Sunday, December 30th, 1912, at 10 o'clock, in the Holy Church of Evangelistria, and having taken into consideration the fact that the fate of the islands of the archipelago is being discussed at the London Conference of the Ambassadors, and that, in the circumstances, the people of the islands are entitled to have their say about their future, decide upon the following resolution, convinced of the righteousness and magnanimous feelings of the great European powers and of the Allied Balkan States. 1.- They proclaim their age-long aspirations about union with the mother country Greece, because they believe it to be the only just solution of the problem, inasmuch as the inhabitants of the islands are purely Greek, the more so as nowhere else in the Ottoman Empire is this true to the same extent. Consequently such a solution provides a real national settlement for the inhabitants; a settlement which is so much supported and desired by civilized Europe. 2.- They declare that they will consider quite unjust every other solution of the problem, which as such they will repudiate; because UNION is the only means left which will really insure the well-being of the inhabitants, and will also preserve peace in the future, and avoid complications which may arise very shortly, creating new difficulties. 3.- They respectfully solicit from the Great Powers and the Allied Balkan States a favourable reception, and their support for the realisation of their highest aspirations, warmly cherished for centuries. 39 An official copy of the present resolution is to be sent a. To the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers. b. To the London Peace Conference of the Balkan States, and c. To the Greek Foreign Office. 4.- The Mayor, Mr. Nicholas Scopelitis, is entrusted with the transmission of the present. In Leros, January 2nd, 1913. The Mayor Councillor Secretary N. Scopelitis M. Karlavas John Ambelas Confirmed by the Holy Metropolis In Leros, January 2nd, 1913. The Bishop Delegate Oikonomos Markos Papageorgiou. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF TILOS. To the British Foreign Office, LONDON. Your Excellency, The inhabitants of the island of Tilos, all of them Greeks, Taking into consideration that the fate of the Dodecanese is being discussed by the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, and that the temporary Italian occupation of the said islands has unfortunately prevented them from being also incorporated into Greece, their Mother Country, In a plenary sitting resolved unanimously the following : it- We repeat our constant desire that our island should be united with Greece, and we abide by this wish of ours, which constitutes our permanent desire. Considering the situation created by the Balkan wars we think that this is the only proper and just solution. 2.- We appeal to the feeling of justice of your Excellency and request you to kindly approve of our desire, which constitutes the only solution capable of insuring a lasting peace. 20 3.- We express to the Conference our eternal gratitude. We request your Excellency kindly to support the realisation of our aspirations according- to this plebiscite. In Tilos, January the 3rd, 1913. On behalf of the inhabitants of the island of Tilos, THE COMMUNITY OF TILOS, The Mayors The Town Councillors J. Michalantos A. Oeconomou N. Kammas N. J. Manikatides P. Logothetis M. . Notariou. Phil. PapaYoannou. Ar. Antoniou. The Secretary, J. Pantelides. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF SYMI. At the moment when discussions are being carried on at the London Conference of their Excellencies the Ambassadors of the Great Powers on the question of the islands of the Aegean and concerning their future fate, as well as the fate of those which, owing to the Italian occupation, have not come within the range of the activity of the Greek fleet, The inhabitants of the island of Symi, all of them purely Greek, in a plenary sitting have resolved unanimously the following: 1.- We strongly protest against the unexpected attitude of Italy and her design to restore again the islands to Turkish sovereignty. 2.- We protest with all our strength against the attitude of a portion of the Italian Press which wrongly insists that the islanders would prefer an autonomous arrangement, or the Italian occupation, to union with the kingdom of Greece. On the contrary we, the islanders, have repeatedly manifested our desire of union with Greece, in spite of all the pressure brought to bear upon us by the Italian authorities with a view to preventing all such manifestations. When the war broke out the islanders enlisted in the Greek army and are shedding their blood on the battlefields. 21 3.- We proclaim again our permanent and immutable determination to unite with Greece our Motherland. We will abide by this resolve, come what may, because it constitutes our immemorial desire and because we consider it the only possible and just solution which would correspond to the situation created by the Balkan war. 4.- We repudiate every other solution and appeal to the feelings of righteousness of the London Conference of their Excellencies the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, requesting them kindly to adopt this wish of the people as the only means of ensuring peace and tranquillity in the islands. 5.- We submit to them our deepest gratitude. 6.- We request the Mayor of Symi to transmit the present to : a. The London Conference of Their Excellencies the Ambassadors of the Great Powers. b. The Peace Conference of the Balkan States in London. c. His Excellency Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary. d. His Excellency Mr. Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Mi- nister of Greece. e. His Excellency Mr. Giolitti, Prime Minister of Italy. In Symi, 4/17 January, 1913. THE COMMUNITY. The Keepers of the Seals, The Mayor, Michael Veniamin, G. P. Gladakis. J. N. Diakoyannis, The Secretary, J. N. Boyatzis. D. Haviaras. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF ASTYPALEA. The people of the island of Astypalea, unable to refrain from manifesting their national aspirations, which they have cherished for centuries, have to-day assembled in a mass meeting and decided the following : 1.- They declare their earnest and immemorial desire lor the UNION OF THEIR ISLAND WITH GREECE THEIR MOTHER- LAND. 2.- They consider this solution as the only possible one, as it corresponds with the time-honoured dreams of the inhabitants of the island who will find satisfaction only by the side of Greece, and repudiate every other solution. 3.- They resolve to send copies of the present to the London Conference of the Ambassadors of the Great Powers and to the Government of GREECE our MOTHERLAND, in order that the latter may do all she can for the realization of the just aspira- tions of her truest sons. 4.- They address a hearty appeal to Their Excellencies re- questing them to approve of, and further, their centuries-old and just aspirations, and they express their deep gratitude for every support of their just cause, which they hope will be realized. Made in Astypalea on the 20th of January, 1913. [The signatures of the inhabitants follow.] PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF HALKI. The inhabitants of the island of Halki have spontaneously met on the 3rd of February, and held a mass meeting in the premises of the church of St. Nicholas and adopted the following resolutions : 1.- We lodge a protest with the Great Powers against all activities tending to prevent our union with Greece, our Mother- land, and we solicit the protection of divine and human justice. 2.- Nothing will keep us from laying on the altar of our country our all, and from striving to secure union with Greece, closely following the footsteps of our ancestors. 3.- We will oppose the ruins of our island to any violence made to our national aspirations so that we may be justified before God and History. 4.- As one man we will all rise under the protection of the Cross and the Greek flag to live free or to die. By order of the people, The Mayors, A. Papadakis, A. Diamantis. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF CARPATHOS. The representatives of the Community of Garpathos having met this Sunday, February 3rd, by order of the people, in a peaceful mass meeting, have unanimously decided the following : We are ready to sacrifice everything that we may fall into the arms of our Great Moth'er, and thus remain united for ever. We emphasize for the last time to our mighty protectors that we have only one wish and one aspiration ; and that our thoughts are concentrated on one point : UNION WITH GREECE — OUR GREAT MOTHER, and we do not mean to resign to any other fate, so that history may not have to record twenty other Cretes, as it will not be possible to impose even on their ruins the reign of power. His Holiness our Bishop Germanos is requested to convey copies of the present to Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, and to the London Conference of the Ambassadors ; as also to Mr. Venizelos, the Greek Premier, and to all others to whom it may be applicable. In Carpathos, February 3rd, 1913. By order of the representatives, The Bishop of Carpathos — Cassos, Germanos. PLEBISCITE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF CALYMNOS. The people of the Island of Calymnos, seeing that the London Conference has come to naught, and that the struggle of the Allies against Turkish disgrace has been resumed, are in great anxiety because — owing to the temporary Italian occupation of their island — they cannot participate in the struggle in this island, held a mass meeting this Sunday, February 3rd, 1913, in the premises of the Holy Church of Christ, and have decided the following : 1.- They proclaim the union of their most Greek island with the motherland Greece. 24 2.- They declare their unswerving decision that they will not accept any other settlement of the fate of the island. They are ready in the contrary case to follow the brilliant example of their sister island Crete. 3.- They solicit the favour of all the great Powers for the realization of their national establishment. [Follow the signatures of the people.] The Holy Metropolis and the Town Council confirm the con- tents of the above resolution. In Galymnos, February 3rd, 1913. The Bishop Delegate, The Mayor, M. Oik. Kleanthis Zervos. A. K. Kouremetis. The Town Councillors, George Hadji Theodorou, Theophilus Coletis, Antonios I. MaYllis, A. Xypolytas, Michael N. Calabros, Drossos Hadji George, G. PapamikaYI, Michael Toulou maris. 25 II. DOCUMENTS THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency Lord Granville, Ambassador of Great Britain, ATHENS. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour of re- questing you kindly to accept and transmit to the British Govern- ment the following resolution : " Your Excellency, Now that Greece, our Mother Country, is mobilising in order to fight, under the lead of her immortal Chief Mr. Venizelos, by the side of the heroic Allies, our Great Friends, Benefactors and Protectors, we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Greeks for thousands of years, would consider it the greatest of honours, if we also were allowed to fight by the side of our Mother Country for the liberation of peoples and for civilisation. " May Your Excellency's most glorious country, the Queen of the seas and Protectress of liberty, the liberal and immortal England, which by Her unattainable heroism, Her magnanimous spirit of self-sacrifice and Her invinci- ble Fleets, has saved the Peoples of the earth from serfdom and destruction and upheld the freedom of the Nations and justice in the world, allow the Dodecanesians to fight by the side of Greece, their Mother Country, for liberty and civilisation. " We remain respectfully yours, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians, resident and refugees in Greece. Athens, 26/11 March, 1918. The President The General Secretary The Treasurer Dr. Skevos Zervos G. Oeconomou Paris Roussos L'9 THE LEAGUE OP THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency Mr. Droppers, Ambassador of the United States, ATHENS. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour of re- questing you kindly to accept and transmit to the Government of the United States the following resolution : " Your Excellency, Now that Greece, our Mother Country, is mobilising in order to fight, under the lead of her immortal Chief Mr. Venizelos, by the side of the heroic Allies, our Great Friends, Benefactors and Protectors, we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Greeks for thousands of years, would consider it the greatest of honours, if we also were allowed to fight by the side of our Mother Country for the liberation of peoples and for civilisation. " May Your Excellency's most powerful Country, the fabulously rich, strong and idealist America, which entered this struggle with no selfish aims but to uphold the cause of Democracy, and of the freedom of the peoples and of justice in the world, allow the Dodecanesians to fight by the side and under the guidance of Greece, their Mother Country, for liberty and civilisation. " We remain respectfully yours, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians, resident and refugees in Greece. Athens, 26/11 March, 1918. The President The General Secretary The Treasurer Dr. Skevos Zervos G. Oeconomou Paris Roussos THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency Mr. De Billy, Ambassador of France, ATHENS. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour of re- questing you kindly to accept and transmit to the French Govern- ment the following resolution : 30 " Your Excellency, Now that Greece, our Mother Country, is mobilising in order to fight, under the lead of her immortal Chief Mr. Venizelos, by the side of the heroic Allies, our Great Friends, Benefactors and Protectors, we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Greeks for thousands of years, would consider it the greatest of honours, if we also were allowed to fight by the side of our Mother Country for the liberation of peoples and for civilisation. " May Your Excellency's most glorious country, the Mother of civilisation and of liberty, immortal and indomit- able France, the Protectress of the Peoples' liberties, some of whose sons are unfortunately still sighing under the abject yoke of the foreigner, anxiously expecting the dawn of their liberation, allow the Dodecanesians to fight by the side, and under the guidance of Greece, their Mother Country, for liberty and civilisation. " We remain respectfully yours, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians, resident and refugees in Greece. Athens, 26/11 March, 1918. The President The General Secretary The Treasurer Dr. Skevos Zervos G. Oeconomou Paris Roussos THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency the Count Bosdari, Ambassador of Italy, ATHENS. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour to request you to kindly accept and transmit to the Italian Government the following resolution : " Your Excellency, Now that Greece, our Mother Country, is mobilising in order to fight, under the lead of her immortal Chief Mr. Venizelos, by the side of the heroic Allies; our Great 31 Friends, Benefactors and Protectors, we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Greeks for thousands of years, would consider it the greatest of honours, if we also were allowed to fight by the side of our Mother Country for the liberation of peoples and for civilisation. " The Italians, Your Excellency, our Great Friends and Allies, who know perfectly well what serfdom means, You, who have brothers and children under the foreign yoke and territories that anxiously await deliverance, may You allow us, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, to fight by the side of Greece, our Motherland, and to die on the altar of freedom and civilisation." We remain respectfully yours, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians resident and refugees in Greece. Athens, 26/11 March, 1918. The President The General Secretary The Treasurer Dr. Skevos Zervos. G. Oeconomou. Paris Roussos. THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught, ATHENS. Your Highness, The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour respect- fully to request you to kindly accept their humble homage and allow them to wish you a hearty welcome. Your Highness, Now that Greece, our Mother Country, is mobilising in order to fight, by the side of her heroic Allies, her Great Friends and Protectors, we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Greeks for thousands of years, would consider it the greatest of honours if we also were allowed to fight, under the Hellenic banner, for the liberation of peoples and for civilisation. 32 May Your Highness' most glorious Country, the Queen of the seas and Protectress of liberty, the liberal and immortal England, which by Her unattainable heroism, Her invincible Armies and Fleets, has saved the world from serfdom and destruction and upheld the National rights of the Peoples, allow the Dodecane- sians to fulfil their duty towards Greece, their Mother Country, by fighting by her side for liberty and civilisation. Your Highness, What military value these twelve islands may acquire when, liberated from the Italians, they are mobilised by the Dodecane- sians themselves; what services these Dodecanesians may render to the great struggle of the Allies by mobilising all their forces and the dynamiters of the islands for the chasing of the submarines and attacking their bases on the coast of Asia Minor ; and, finally, what other signal services the Dodecanesians may render to the Allies if they ever decide to undertake operations against Smyrna and Asia Minor, all these we shall be able to develop by word of mouth to Your Highness, as soon as You will be good enough to fix the hour and the day when we may have the high privilege to present ourselves to Your Highness and to hand to Him the reso- lution of the Dodecanesians. We beg Your Highness to accept our most respectful homage. Athens, 3rd April, 1918. The Treasurer The Secretary The President Paris Roussos. G. Oeconomou. Dr. Skevos Zervos. BRITISH LEGATION. ATHENS. April 4th, 1918. Sir, I am instructed by the British Minister to bring to your know- ledge that he has been asked by His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught to express to you his regret that, your letter of the 3rd of April having reached him at the moment of his 33 departure, it has been impossible for him to grant you the audience which you have asked him. I remain, Sir, yours faithfully, A. B. Kettle well. Dr. Skevos Zervos, President of the League of the Dodecanesians, Athens. THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency Count Bosdari, Italian Ambassador, Athens. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians, knowing your love of justice, your superior culture, and your patriotism, have the honour to request you earnestly that on your approaching return to Italy, our great friend and ally, you will loudly proclaim to the Italian people the claims of the Twelve Islands to national esta- blishment. The Twelve Islands have been genuinely Greek for many thousands of years without interruption. The Dodecanese, Your Excellency, are in immediate and absolute need of three things. They urgently need food at once, as they are suffering already from a terrible lack of necessaries, being in danger of immediate death from starvation. The Do- decanese need at once direct communication with the world at large; and also the free and unmolested return of their sons. Finally, the Dodecanese are in need of their national restoration — full, complete, and universal. » We, the Dodecanesians, will be always grateful to you if, by your mediation, our Twelve Islands are delivered from the occupation of Italy, who is fighting for the Freedom of Nations and the Right of Nationalities ; of Italy whose own unredeemed children are anxiously awaiting deliverance, and who therefore knows what serfdom means. Your Excellency, all our activity in favour of the liberation of the Dodecanese is coincident with the real and great interests of Italy. When the Dodecanese are freed and join Greece, our 34 Motherland, you may be sure that we will at once give our lives 'with the greatest self-sacrifice at those points where are being sealed the fate of freedom and civilization and we will ever be grateful to you. We remain, Yours respectfully, President Dr. Skevos Zervos. Treasurer Paris Roussos. Secretary George Oiconomou. TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. ATHENS. The inhabitants of the islands occupied by Italy follow with great enthusiasm your efforts at securing the realization of their centuries-old aspirations. They heartily commune with you over the seas, in order to strengthen your voice and add new ardour to your entreaties to the powerful ones of this earth. The Greeks in these islands should certainly manifest their cooperation with you in a more tangible way, and the measure of their assistance should not be less than that of their rights. They should herald their rights throughout the civilized world, which is to-day fighting for the cause of justice and nationalities, and declare their one eternal and immutable desire of union with Greece their mother- land. They should even according to their national traditions, demand that this union be immediately realized and not postponed to the end of the war, when it might be given as a gift, because the Greek is not used to such gifts. He likes to grow the tree of freedom first on his own blood. Let the Bulgarians and other impotent nations receive such gifts. We demand union from now, so that we may enlist forthwith and fight the common foes of civilization and justice. All these sacred feelings should be loudly proclaimed from the Twelve Islands, because they vibrate in the hearts of us all. 61) Our enthusiasm and emotions swell like an ocean since Greece, our Motherland, under the trusted and masterful guidance of her Great Chief has taken her true and proper place by the side of the great friends and protectors of justice in general, and of Greece in particular. We all address one and only one prayer to the God of Greece, namely, that the day may dawn when our blood, our wealth, our tears, sorrows and pleasures will be mingled with those of our brothers on the field of honour, for the sake of our sweet country and noble race. Nevertheless, all this ocean of noble feelings which fills us to overflowing during these historic moments lies hidden. The reasons for this are known to you. This is not the proper moment for us to expose them to you. But in order that it may not be supposed by anybody, or rather argued by those interested, that the people of the Dodecanese are pleased with their present state, we proclaim and beg that you should make it known throughout the civilized world, that only the naked bayonet, glittering above our heads, restrains us from giving a free vent to our overflowing complaints, because we are not enjoying a XXth century government, but the methods of the XVth century or of a yet darker age are being applied on our islands. However, you, who enjoy freedom of speech and of writing, are invested with full powers from us all to work for our unique ideal, the Union of our Country, the Dodecanese, with Greece our Motbo-iand. Make such use of the present document as will seem to you called for. We regret that the situation does not permit us to provide you with plebiscites. But you have those issued four years ago. We all abide by them to death. Made in the Dodecanese, on June the 1st, 1918. THE BISHOPS, THE BISHOP DELEGATES, THE MAYORS AND THE COUNCILLORS OP THE DODECANESE. 36 (TELEGRAM) MARSHALL FOCH, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OP THE ALLIED ARMIES, PARIS, WESTERN FRONT. The League of the Dodecanesians have the honour to submit to you our warmest congratulations and deep admiration for the promptness, steadfastness, and the exemplary strategic ability wherewith you have reduced, by so many brilliant victories, an odious, barbarous, tenacious and well-trained enemy. No doubt, victory will no more part with you and your name will ever remind the world of the protector of liberty and of civilization. We beseech you earnestly, to take such measures as will permit us, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, to realize what we have been so persistently appealing for, namely to shed our blood on the altar of liberalism and civilisation. You may be perfectly convinced that we shall ever remain grateful to you for this great honour which will befall us. Yours, With deepest respect, Dr. Skevos Zervos. President of the League of the Dodecanesians. Athens, September lGth, 1918. (TELEGRAM) BATHS OF YPATI, October 3/17, 1918. To His Excellency, Mr. ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS. Prime Minister, SALONICA. All the islands of the Dodecanese kneel down and ask of the Almighty to preserve your precious health. They express to you their boundless gratitude on your National exploits and the resto- ration of the National honour. We, the Dodecanesians, greet with tears of joy the liberation of Eastern Macedonia and await our own deliverance from a heavy and oppressive yoke. Yours, With deepest respect, Dr. Skevos Zervos, President of the League of the Dodecanesians. 37 (TELEGRAM) October 4/18, 1918. His Excellency, Mr. DROPPERS, United States Minister, ATHENS. The Dodecanese rejoice from end to end, expressing to you their gratitude and warm congratulations, because they consider their deliverance certain, from the speech of your Great President Wilson. The Dodecanese have been and are Greek in language, religion, usages and customs for three thousand years uninter- ruptedly. Yours, With profound respect, Dr. Skevos Zervos. President of the League of the Dodecanesians. (TELEGRAM) BATHS OF YPATI, October 4/17, 1918. His Excellency, the Baron ROMANO AVEZZANO, Italian Minister, ATHENS. I have the honour to inform you that recent declarations of the Italian Government concerning the liberation of the subject peoples, and the freedom of the oppressed, convince me of the coming deliverance of my country, the Dodecanese, which has been Greek for thirty centuries — not only in language but also in religion, usages, customs and national ideals. I warmly congratulate your Excellency on these liberal declarations of the Italian Government, and respectfully request of you to submit to the latter my congratulations. Yours, With profound respect, Dr. Skevos Zervos. President of the Dodecanesians. 38 (TELEGRAM) Saint Nicholas, Lassithi, CRETE. November 5th, 1918. Dr. Skevos Zervos, President of the Dodecanesians, ATHENS. On behalf of all the Dodecanesians resident in the province of Lassithi and of representatives of all the Dodecanesian refugees in the remaining- provinces of Crete, who held a spontaneous mass meeting, we unanimously appoint a committee of yourself and of Mr. Paris Roussos to go to Europe and to interpret our permanent aspirations and to work for the liberation of the Dodecanese and for its union with Greece, our Mother Country. We bestow upon this Committee full power and enjoin it to do all they can with a view to bringing about the national settlement of our country, union with Greece, and the shaking off of the abject and oppres- sive yoke of Italy. The Committee of the Meeting, Dem. Kenenydes, Drosos loannou Coulouris, Mai 1 1 is Cleomenis, Spyros Anagnostou, Nicholas Monochondylos, Helias Pavninakis. Athens, October 29th, 1918. Dr. Skevos Zervos, ATHENS. Dear Sir, We have the honour to inform you that the Representatives of the Dodecanese, having met on the 19th of October 1918, and being in full quorum, have elected you in order that with Mr. Paris I. Roussos, of Leros, you may form a Committee with the purpose of going to Europe and endeavouring by all suitable means to secure the union of our country, the Dodecanese, with Greece, our Motherland. Our Union with Greece constitutes the only ardent yearning of all the representatives, and of the National Assembly of the Dodecanese who have unanimously elected them, having met for that purpose in Athens, on the 11th of February, 1918. This 39 National Assembly comprised all the Dodecanesians who have settled in Athens, Piraeus and the neighbourhood, the Corpora- tions, Associations, Leagues and the Dodecanesian refugees. They cherish one desire and one wish, namely Union with Greece, which they have repeatedly and persistently manifested by means of plebiscites secured by each island, and all, during the Italian occupation. All these manifestations have ever cons- tituted the one and permanent aspiration of every Dodecanesian. We remain, Yours respectfully, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, Acting President, Vice-President, Nikitas P. Roussos, George Mavroleon, Banker. Ship-owner. Secretary General, George Oiconomos, Ex-Mayor of Leros. The Members, George Nicolaou, Ship-owner, Banker, Elias M. Kouloukountis, Director and Owner of a Bank, Elias Hadjelias, Ship-owner, Constantinos Mezas, Director and Owner of a Bank, Savvas Pavlides, Ex-Mayor of Rhodes, George Mavrikakis, Captain, Elias Mavroleon, President of the Quarry-Workers of Karpathos, George Mavrikakis, Officer of the Police, Nicholas Nicoloudis, Physician, Nicholas Anghelides, Director of a Clinical Establishment, Kyriacos Stavrianos, Principal and Owner of a College. Athens, October 29th, 1918. Paris I. Roussos Esq., ATHENS. Dear Sir, We have the honour to inform you that the Representative* of the Dodecanese, having met on the 19th of October 1918, and being in full quorum, have elected you in order that with Dr. Skevos Zervos, of Calymnos, you may form a Committee with 40 the purpose of going to Europe and endeavouring by all suitable means to secure the union of our country, the Dodecanese, with Greece, our Motherland. Our Union with Greece constitutes the only ardent yearning of all the representatives, and of the National Assembly of the Dodecanese who have unanimously elected them, having met for that purpose in Athens, on the 11th of February, 1918. This National Assembly comprised all the Dodecanesians who have settled in Athens, Piraeus and the neighbourhood, the Corpora- tions, Associations, Leagues and the Dodecanesian refugees. They cherish one desire and one wish, namely Union with Greece, which they have repeatedly and persistently manifested by means of plebiscites secured by each island, and all, during the Italian occupation. All these manifestations have ever cons- tituted the one and permanent aspiration of every Dodecanesian. We remain, Yours respectfully, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, Acting President, Vice-President, Nikitas P. Roussos, George Mavroleon, Banker. Ship-owner. Secretary General, George Oiconomos, Ex-Mayor of Leros. The Members, George Nicolaou, Ship-owner, Banker, Elias M. Kouloukountis, Director and Owner of a Bank. Elias Hadjelias, Ship-owner, Constantinos Mezas, Director and Owner of a Bank, Savvas Pavlides, Ex-Mayor of Bhodes, George Mavrikakis, Captain, Elias Mavroleon, President of the Quarry-Workers of Karpathos, George Mavrikakis, Officer of the Police, Nicholas Nicoloudis, Physician, N. Kantartzis, Phisician, Nicholas Anghelides, Director of a Clinical Establishment, Kyriacos Stavrianos, Principal and Owner of a College. 41 No 804. Naxos, 18th October, 1918. Dr. Skevos Zervos, President of the League of the Dodecanesians, ATHENS. I have the honour to forward to you herewith the plebiscite drawn up at the mass meeting held yesterday by the Dodecanesian refugees, numbering over 2,000 and residing in the island, and by the representatives of the Dodecanesian refugees resident in the surrounding islands of Paros, Amorgos and Myconos. This plebiscite was handed over to me by a committee of Dodecane- sians, appointed at the meeting. As is mentioned in the en- closed plebiscite, they demand union with Greece, the Mother Country, and enjoin you, convinced as they are of your patriotism, to communicate it to the Greek Government and to the Repre- sentatives of the Allied Governments. The Harbour Master and Customs Officer of the island of Naxos, A. Bournias. RESOLUTION. Of the Dodecanesians, especially of those from Calymnos, who are now refugees living in Naxos, Paros, Amorgos and Mykonos, because of the oppression and the privations which we are endur- ing in our native land on the part of the Italian provisional Govern- ment. The Dodecanesians who are temporarily residing in Naxos, and especially those from Calymnos along with the representatives of all the Dodecanesian refugees from the islands of Paros, A- morgos, and Mykonos, having in view 1.- The approaching European Conference which will decide the fate of the oppressed peoples on the principles of Nationalities and the free will of Nations, 2.- The official declarations and messages of His Excel- lency, the President of the Great American Democracy, Mr. Wilson, 3.- That even during centuries of Turkish Sovereignty of 4l' dismal memory, we kept intact in our souls and in our minds, our genuinely Greek, nationality, having never ceased to look for- ward to our longed-for union with, and administration by, Greece, our Motherland, in whose schools we have been brought up and reared with Her culture, glory and history, 4.- That we speak the very same language, that we profess the same religion, that we are of the same origin and have the same history with our free Greek brothers, 5.- That only Greeks have been living in our islands for several centuries, 6.- That we are genuine descendants of the old Ionian race of ancient Greece, 7.- That from the day when, the Italian Government, in a sheer spirit of conquest and regardless of every human and divine law, violently occupied our islands, we endure the heaviest of yokes, being relentlessly oppressed and finding ourselves before the distressing alternative of disowning our Nationality or being expatriated, experiencing countless privations, humiliations and tortures, 8.- That the violent oppressions and the illegal persecu- tions which the Italian provisional Government perpetrates against us, have temporarily forced us to abandon our homes, until the day of our national restoration, We have gathered together in a mass meeting comprising 2,000 persons, in the town of Naxos, this Wednesday, October the 17th, 1918, in the presence of the representatives of the Dodeca- nesian refugees residing for the present in Paros, Amorgos, and Mykonos, and adopted the following resolution : a. We have only one sweet country, our beloved Greece. b. We proclaim with all the strength of our mind and our soul, that Union with Greece, our Motherland, is the only national restoration conceivable, the only solution we ardently desire, because of our community of descent, language, history and religion. c. We denounce the provisional Italian administration, in as much as it is more oppressive and harsh than even the Turkish rule, and because there is no bond of union between us. d. We all offer wholeheartedly to fight and to shed our blood and to make every possible contribution in favour of our beloved Greece, her Great Allies, Friends and Protectors, and our much longed-for national restoration. 43 e. We enjoin the President of the League of the Dodecane- sians to communicate the present to the Greek Government, to Their Excellencies, the Ambassadors of the Great American Re- public, of the Mighty British Empire, the Ruler of the seas, and of Immortal France. We appoint a Committee of seven members to sign the present resolution and, through the mediation of the Harbour Master of the island of Naxos, to forward it to Dr. Skevos Zervos, President of the League of the Dodecanesians, in Athens, for further use. In the town of Naxos, 17th October, 1918. George Th. Maillis, George Contodiacos, Antonios Dr. Kourounis, Apostolos Pikoullos, Sacristan Atsas, For the illiterate John Chalicos, John N. Cathopoulis, John N. Gonatos. (TELEGRAM) THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OP THE DODECANESE. To His Excellency, President Woodrow Wilson, WASHINGTON. Your Excellency, The undersigned members of the Executive Committee of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, representing both our com- patriots dwelling in the Twelve Islands, and those who live abroad, as well as the refugees from the Dodecanese, their Lea- gues, Associations, and Organisations, have the honour, on our arrival in this liberal country, to bring to your knowledge that we have been asked by all our fellow countrymen, in the most simple, unequivocal, and categorical way, to submit to you — the pioneer of freedom and the protector of small nations — their one and unswerving desire for the reunion of the Dodecanese with Greece, their mother country. 44 The Dodecanese, Your Excellency, where Herodotus the fa- ther of History, and Hippocrates the father of Medicine, have seen the day, the Dodecanese, which have reared and inspired so many poets, physicians and philosophers, fervently request you to kindly intercede in favour of their reunion with Greece, and to plead at the Peace Conference for their deliverance.. We deserve this freedom as much as any other country, not only because of our immortal past history and traditions, and the signal services rendered to science and humanity, but also because we have repeatedly and persistently asked of the Entente and of America, during the critical moments of this war, the privilege to fight by your side and to die for the sake of freedom. We submit to your Excellency the deepest respect of the Dodecanese, which expect from you their freedom, and We remain, Your Excellency's obedient servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos. The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. Piccadilly Hotel, London. Dec. 2nd, 1918. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. To His Excellency, the Right Honorable Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 10, Downing Street, LONDON, S.W.I. Your Excellency, The undersigned members of the Executive Committee of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, representing both our com- patriots dwelling in the Twelve Islands, and those who live abroad, as well as the refugees from the Dodecanese, their Lea- gues, Associations, and Organisations, have the honour, on our arrival in this liberal country, to bring to your knowledge that we have been asked by all our fellow countrymen, in the most simple, unequivocal, and categorical way, to submit to you — the 45 pioneer of freedom ond the protector of small nations — their one and unswerving desire for the reunion of the Dodecanese with Greece, their mother country. The Dodecanese, Your Excellency, where Herodotus the fa- ther of History, and Hippocrates the father of Medicine, have seen the day, the Dodecanese, which have reared and inspired so many poets, physicians and philosophers, fervently request you to kindly intercede in favour of their reunion with Greece, and to plead at the Peace Conference for their deliverance. We deserve this freedom as much as any other country, not only because of our immortal past history and traditions, and the signal services rendered to science and humanity, but also because we have repeatedly and persistently asked of the Entente and of America, during the critical moments of this war, the privilege to fight by your side and to die for the sake of freedom. We submit to your Excellency the deepest respect of the Dodecanese, which expect from you their freedom, and We remain, Your Excellency's obedient servants, Dr. Skevos i-ervos, Paris Roussos. The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. Piccadilly Hotel, London. Dec. 2nd, 1918. LE COMITE EXECUTIF DES HABITANTS DU DODECANESE. Son Excellence M. Georges Clemenceau, President du Conseil des Ministres du Gouvernement de la Republique Franchise. Monsieur le President, Nous soussignes, membres du Comite Executif des habitants du Dodecanese, representant nos compatriotes residant dans les Douze lies ainsi que ceux vivant a l'Stranger et ies refugies du i honneur de porter a votre connaissance que nous avons ete Dodecanese, leurs Ligues, Associations et Organisations, avons 4G charges par nos concitoyens de vous soumettre de la facon la plus nette et la plus categorique, au nom du droit des petites nationalities dont vous avez ete le glorieux champion, leur ardent desir de voir le Dodecanese uni a la Grece, la mere-patrie. Le Dodecanese, Monsieur le President, ou virent le jour Herodote, le pere de l'Histoire et Hippocrate, le pere de la Me- decine, ces douze iles qui ont berce et inspire tant de poetes, de docteurs et de philosophes, vous adressent un fervent appel de bien vouloir interceder au Gongres de la Paix, en faveur de leur union avec la Grece. Nous avons aussi droit a la liberte non seulement a cause de nos traditions plusieurs fois seculaires et des services eminents que nos hommes de science et de lettres ont rendus a l'humanite, mais aussi du fait de nos demandes persistantes et reiterees, adressees a l'Entente et a l'AmSrique, aux moments les plus critiques de cette guerre, afin qu'il nous frit permis de combattre a vos cotes et de mourir pour la liberte. Nous vous prions d'agreer, Monsieur le President, l'expres- sion de notre profonde reconnaissance au nom des habitants du Dodecanese qui attendent de vous leur liberation. Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos. Membres du Comite Executif des habitants du Dodecanese. Londres, le 2 Dec, 1918. Piccadilly Hotel, W.l. LETTER FROM THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE. 10, Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W.i. 4th December, 1918. Dear Sir, I am desired by the Prime Minister to acknowledge the receipt of the letter which you forward on behalf of the Executive Committee of the Inhabitants of the Dodecanese. Yours faithfully. F. L. Stevenson. Dr. Skevos Zervos. 47 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. SAVOY HOTEL, Strand, London, W.G.2. December 7th, 1918. The Right Hon. Arthur Balfour, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London. Your Excellency, We have the honour of sending you herewith a copy of the memorandum which we submitted to His Excellency the Rt. Hon. Lloyd George, requesting of him our freedom, and the union of our islands with Greece — our Motherland. We remain, Your Excellency's most obedient servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos. The Executive Committee of the Inhabitants of the Dodecanese. Your Excellency, The undersigned members of the Executive Committee of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese, representing both our compatriots dwelling in the Twelve Islands and those who lived abroad, as well as the refugees from the Dodecanese, their leagues, associations, and organisations, have the honour, on our arrival in this liberal country, to bring to your knowledge that we have been asked by all our fellow-countrymen, in the most simple, unequivocal and categorical way, to submit to you, the pioneer of freedom and the protector of small nations, their one and unswerving desire for the reunion of the Dodecanese with Greece, their mother country. The Dodecanese, your Excellency, where Herodotus, the fa- ther of History, and Hippocrates, the father of Medicine, have seen the day, the Dodecanese, which have reared and inspired so many poets, physicians and philosophers, fervently request you kindly to intercede in favour of their reunion with Greece, and to plead at the Peace Conference for their deliverance. We deserve freedom as much as any other country, not only because of our immortal past history and traditions, and the signal services 48 rendered to science and humanity — but also because we have repeatedly and persistently asked of the Entente and America during the critical moments of this war the privilege to fight by your side and to die for the sake of freedom. We submit to your Excellency the deepest respect of the Dodecanese, which expect from you their freedom, and We remain, Your Excellency's obedients servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos. Paris Roussos. ON HIS MAJESTY'S SERVICE. The Executive Committee of the Inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Savoy Hotel, Strand, W.G.2. ■ R. Graham, FOREIGN OFFICE. In any further communication on this subject, please quote No. 202451/W19 and address — The Under-Secretary of State, Foreign Office, London, S.W.I. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to Dr. Skevos Zervos, and by direction of the Secretary of State acknowledges the receipt of his letter of the 7th inst., which is receiving attention. Foreign Office, December 10th, 1918. 49 NO.201669/W/44. FOREIGN OFFICE, December 11th, 1918. Gentlemen :- I am directed by Mr. Secretary Balfour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of December 2nd, addressed to the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Executive Committee of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese. I am, Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble Servant, R. Graham. Dr. Skevos Zervos, Mr. Paris J. Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians, Piccadilly Hotel, London, S.W. III. DOCUMENTS OF THE SECOND EDITION THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. To His Excellency, Mr. ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS, Prime Minister of Greece, En V i 1 1 e . Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians, knowing that their mother- land, Greece, entered the war of Nations in order that she, with her great Allies might support the rights of peoples and the liberties of the world and free all her oppressed children, takes the liberty of drawing your serious attention to the present condition of the Dodecanese, not from a political, but merely from a humanitarian point of view. Your Excellency, the grave conditions which for some time past have prevailed in the Dodecanese have lately become intoler- able. To keep body and soul together is a problem. Deaths from starvation occur in the open streets and market places; not only men, but pregnant women have been driven to suicide — a thing hitherto unknown during the three thousand years of the history of the islands. Despair, caused by the oppression and persecution of the local Italian Authorities, has led to a veritable exodus from the Dodecanese, the people taking refuge in the surrounding islands, Paros, Naxos, Amorgos, Mykonos, Crete, and even at Salonica, Piraeus, Athens and its suburbs. Such an exodus, if continued, will result in the complete depopulation of the Dodecanese. Galymnos for example, with a population of 26,000 inhabitants when the Italians first landed in the Dodecanese, had only 14,000 when a census was taken six months ago, and when about ten days ago a fresh census was taken in connection with the distribu- tion of ration books, it was found that only 8,312 inhabitants re- mained in that island. Leros, which at the commencement of the provisional occupation by the Italians, numbered 8,000 inhabitants, has now only about 2,500. The island of Symi with a population of 23,000 at the time of the Italian landing, possesses now no more than 6,500 inhabitants. The same has happened in the other twelve islands; this wholesale exodus of the inhabitants is due mainly to two causes : 1. The appalling famine which is cruelly afflicting the Dode- canese, owing to the necessities of life being kept back by the Italians, and 51 2. The systematic persecution of the islanders by the local Italian Authorities, their brutal conduct, their humiliation of the Church, their desecration of family ties, and the strict orders of the Italian Government which prevent the return of the inhabi- tants of the Dodecanese to their homes. THE FAMINE. For months past the famine in the Dodecanese has been so acute that not only many people daily perish (especially in the largest islands) from utter exhaustion and lowered vitality, but even women commit suicide. The refugees who are compelled by hunger to leave the islands arrive here so exhausted and emaciated that they appear more like shadows than living beings. Some are so starved that they have become mere skeletons ; they suffer from swollen extremities ; the lobes of their ears are transparent ; they are unable to walk and even when standing suffer from vertigo, palpitation, faintness and exhaustion. The terrible food shortage in the Dodecanese is such that even pregnant women have committed suicide e. g. Maria Lazari who drowned herself in the harbour of Calymnos and in whose mouth was found a piece of onion, her only sustenance. It is a well-known fact that for four whole months the inhabi- tants of the Dodecanese did not even see a drop of olive oil; that the only nourishment supplied to them was 15 grammes of bread per diem and that they had no beans, peas, or other animal or vegetable food during the whole of that period. It is an attested fact that they were not, and are still not allowed to sail out of their ports after 4 p.m. for the purpose of fishing. It is also well-known that the coast of Asia-Minor opposite to the islands is closed against them and that the sending of food to them from Greece is absolutely forbidden, as your Excellency is well aware. All this gives but a faint idea of the terrible condi- tions existing in the Dodecanese. The Italian authorities not only failed to send to the Do- decanese the food which they had received from the Allied markets solely for the use of these islands, but took no steps whatsoever to import food from outside. They were only interested in the feeding of their military and civil employees; they used famine as a terrible and inhuman means for effecting the wholesale extermination of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese. Even the small supplies of food and the domestic animals of the people were commandeered by the Government and used solely for its own men, the natives being thus deprived even of their small re- 52 serves, always very limited in quantity because of the stony soil of the islands. The condition of the Dodecanese is critical and desperate. Anyone visiting the islands is brought face to face with an appalling spectacle of sufferings. The inhabitants are con- fronted with the frightful alternative of either dying from famine in their houses, close to the graves of their children and parents, or abandoning what is, next to God, dearest to them — their country. The League of the Dodecanesians would be grateful to Your Excellency, if you would have the kindness to bring these facts to the notice of the Allies, if you would ask them to enquire into them and verify them with their own eyes. The state of famine in the Dodecanese is the result of the criminal neglect of the tyrannical Italian Government to provision them. It is well known, Your Excellency, that the Twelve Islands are rocky and barren, that they were to a very great extent supplied from that part of Asia-Minor situated opposite to them and from the ports of liberated Greece, whence the necessary foodstuffs were brought by sea transport, and that when, after the entry of Turkey into the war, the coasts of Asia-Minor were closed, the motherland, Greece, undertook the whole feeding of the Dodecanese, a service which she carried out with splendid efficiency. In this way, during the first year of the war, when the Dodecanese was supplied with food from Greece, there were always full stocks. No sooner, however, had Italy claimed and obtained from the Allies the right to receive and distribute the food allotted by the Allies to these islands, than their condition suffered a change for the worse. In the first months owing to the existence of small reserves in the islands, the matter did not appear serious, but as time went on and the supplies were either exhausted or were commandeered by the Italians for the use of their own people, without any attempt to replace them, the condi- tions became more serious month by month. For many months nothing was sent to the Dodecanese by the Italians, not even a single ship-load of grain, nor would they allow us here, or the Dodecanesians residing in Egypt or in America to send the necessary food supplies for our relatives and com- patriots in the islands; they would not even allow money to be sent; all this in order that the misery might be increased and the inhabitants of the islands be compelled to emigrate from their homeland. The League of the Dodecanesians respectfully but earnestly begs your Excellency for the sake of common humanity to take 53 immediate steps to supply the Dodecanese with the indispensable necessaries and foodstuffs, it being of course understood that the cost of these supplies will be defrayed by the Dodecanese. We also entreat you to take steps that we may be immediately allowed to send, without any restriction, from here or elsewhere all such food as we are able, so that we may come to the assistance of our islands now threatened with the direst calamity. We do not now ask the Allies to satisfy our national aspira- tions as we do not wish at this critical juncture to divert their attention from the war to which all their efforts must be directed in order to defeat the dreaded enemy. For the liberation of the Dodecanese and its union with our motherland, Greece, we shall apply after the war has ended, to the universal Supreme Court of Appeal, that is to say to the Peace Conference which will then be called together. But we ask in the name of justice and huma- nity for the means of feeding and supporting the Dodecanese. We ask, in the name of liberty, that the inhabitants of the Dodecanese may be free to return to their country. These people have com- mitted no crime. They are yearning to return to their homes and their families. It is lamentable, indeed, that at the time when millions of the citizens of the most civilised countries have for the last four years been fighting for the freedom of nations and for civilisation, at a time when the blood of all liberal nations has been poured out in streams, that we, the inhabitants of the Dodecanese — the most sincere of all the Greeks — are not only precluded from fighting by the side of the Allies for liberty and civilisation, but are forbidden even to feed and support ourselves or in any way assist our people, and that those inhabitants who are absent from their native country are not allowed to return to the Dodecanese. We will not describe to Your Excellency all the insults, unjust imprisonments, humiliations and acts of cruelty which occur daily in the Dodecanese, the victims being not merely the leading citi- zens, not only women and children, but also priests, representa- tives of the bishops and bishops themselves. You are yourself but too well acquainted with the particulars. In conclusion we have the honour to submit to your Excellency detailed lists : a) Of all the persons who have died of famine in the Do- decanese, with their names and surnames, ages and the date of their decease. 54 b) Of the persons expelled by the Italians from the Dode- canese; of all the citizens of the Dodecanese who are not allowed to return to their country, and of all the refugees from the islands, amounting - to tens of thousands of persons, who have been com- pelled to leave the Dodecanese to escape famine and the terrible tyranny of the Italians. In all these lists we have given not merely the name and surname of each person who has died of starvation, has been expelled or has left the islands; we have given not merely his age, occupation, date of death or expulsion from the Dodeca- nese, but also in the case of those still alive the name of the locality and street where they are now residing, with house-number, so that the correctness of our statements may be immediately and easily verified. We therefore solicit Your Excellency's immediate interven- tion and assistance, and remain, Your most humble and obedient servants, The Treasurer, The President, Paris J. Roussos. Dr. Skevos Zervos. The General Secretary, G. Oeconomou. Athens, 15th May, J91S. . 55 THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. Athens, 4th August, 1018. To His Excellency, NICOLAOS POLITIS, Minister of Foreign Affairs. ATHENS. Your Excellency, The League of the Dodecanesians heiug unable, owing to the Press censorship, to refute categorically and indignantly the con- tents of an article in to-day's issue of the "Patris" stating that "Contrary to the reports that have been circulated for some time past relative to the food question in the Dodecanese, the position in those islands from the point of view of the importation of food- stuffs is quite encouraging etc." we have the honour to report to you that this is a malevolent inexactitude published with the purpose of completely crushing the Dodecanese. The famine in the Dodecanese, your Excellency, has been now raging for many months, to such an extent that not only do deaths occur from starvation, but even pregnant women are driven to suicide, throwing themselves into the sea. as was the case witli Maria Lazari of Calymnos. To prove our statement we have the honour to submit here- with an exact list of names with the dates and full details of each of these deplorable suicides. The famine-stricken fugitives from the Dodecanese are s»» dejected and exhausted that they appear shadows rather than living human beings. The condition of the Dodecanese is critical and desperate. Anyone visiting the islands would see all the prisons full of women, whose only crime is to have complained that their children were starving; he would be confronted with a people who for many months past have been faced with the frightful alter- native either of dying from famine in their homes, near the graves of their children and parents, or of abandoning what is dearesl to them, after God, their country. The famine especially, but also the oppressions, persecutions, imprisonments and continual extirpation of everything held by them to be sacred and moral, have compelled the inhabitants of the Dodecanese to leave their country by thousands, and to seek shelter and hospitality as refugees on the coasts of liberated 56 Greece, at Paros, Naxos, Amorgos, Myconos, Euboea, Crete, at Saloniea and even at Piraeus. An exact list enclosed contains their names, surnames, pro- fession or trade, their ages and also the date of their arrival and the names of the streets where they are staying, so that you and the representatives of the Allied Nations can verify the same. This exodus from the Dodecanese caused by famine, has left the islands nearly destitute of inhabitants; two-thirds have died from hunger or privation, or have abandoned the country and taken refuge in liberated Greece. Owing to this, the island of Galymnos which originally had a population of 26,000 inhabi- tants, when first occupied by the Italians, at the last census, taken for the purpose of issuing ration books, had only 8,312 inhabitants,. The island of Leros which originally had 8,000 inhabitants, now contains only about 2.500. The same desolation is apparent in all the Dodecanese. If your Excellency would ask the first inhabitant from the Dodecanese, man, woman or child, who may be met in the streets of Athens or Piraeus, or in the islands where the refugees are to be found by the thousands, (a list of whom we enclose herewith), you would hear at once the frightful truth in all its details from their embittered and suffering lips. But can we not prove to you better the whole sinister and martyred condition of the Dodecanese, by visiting with a commis- sion specially appointed for the purpose, and examining any travellers arriving from the islands ? The Commission will see the sinister spectre of famine in their dejected, ex- hausted, hungry and swollen faces. Most of them, will be dreadful to behold, emaciated, mere skeletons, others will be nearly dead, whilst others will be in a state of collapse, unable to rise, or if able to rise, suffering from dizziness, faintness, and every other symptom of the most horrible starvation. We are at your Excellency's disposal to furnish you with full information in order that you may ascertain and verify the truth as to the dreadful and martyred condition of the Dodecanese. We have the honour to remain with profound respect, Your Excellency's most humble servants, The President The Treasurer Dr. Skevos Zervos. Paris J. Roussos The General Secretary G. Oeconomos. 57 THE LEAGUE OF THE DODECANESIANS. Athens, 14th August, 1918. To His Excellency, The Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, En Ville (local) Your Excellency, We have the honour herewith to bring to your knowledge that the condition of the Dodecanese continues to be extremely grave. At the present moment we refrain from again dwelling upon the totally inadequate food-supplies of the islands, or upon the choice between expatriation and death to which the Dodeca- nesians are constrained by hunger. We will not, morever, again describe to your Excellency how the prisons of the Dodecanese are filled with men and women incarcerated for having said that they could no longer withstand starvation, that they were on the point of death, that their parents and children had already succumbed to want of bread or other food. These facts are fully known to your Excellency in all their tragic detail. We would, however, inform you, that for some time past the Garabinieri have been presenting from house to house blank sheets of paper, on which the inhabitants are invited and compelled to inscribe their signatures, without knowing to what end they are so pertinaciously coerced into performing this act. Furthermore the mayors, notables, episcopal administrators, and priests of the Dodecanese, having been invited to banquets by the Italian Autho- rities, have been compelled, at the close of these repasts, to subscribe addresses of thanksgiving and felicitations to Italy. Finally, only a few days ago, the Italian Government opened Italian night-schools in all the islands for teaching Italian, which is there entirely unknown, and at the same time published a Royal Decree constituting Italian the official language of the Dodecanese. An Italian sub-lieutenant was appointed director of the schools and the scholars were rigorously forbidden between lessons to use Greek, that is to use the one and only language of the Dodeca- nesians, the language which they have spoken exclusively since the history of Man has teen recorded. With the most profound respect, We remain, Your Excellency's humble servants, The President, The Treasurer, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris J. Roussos. 58 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. To His Excellency, Mr. WOODROW WILSON, President of the United-States. Your Excellency, We, the undersigned, have the honour of submitting to your attention the WHITE BOOK of the Dodecanese. Your Excellency will see in the simple and unequivocal plebiscites of the Dodecanesians, our eternal national aspirations and our desire of liberty and of union with Greece, our Mother Country, of which we form an integral part since time immemorial. We, the Dodecanesians, have constantly in mind your immortal messages wherein you proclaimed to the whole world that the days of conquests and aggrandisements are now past. We, likewise, bear always in mind your principle that unless justice be done to others, it will not be done to us, and believe in our approaching deliverance. The Dodecanese, our Excellency, is not a res nullius to be occupied or ceded at will. On the contrary, we, the Dodecane- sians, have a highly developed national conscience and time- honoured traditions and culture. Our old history bears witness to the services rendered to humanity by these twelve islands with their philosophers, physicians, historians, poets, astronomers and evangelists. Before resorting to any violent means in view of our national restoration, we confidently appeal to Your Excellency, the cham- pion of the freedom of the peoples, requesting of you to kindly see that our freedom and our union with Greece is secured. We remain, Your Excellency's most obedient servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. Savoy Hotel. London, the 26th December, 1918. 59 AMERICAN COMMISSION TO NEGOCIATE PEACE PARIS, 10 January, 1919. My deai' Dr. Zervos, The President has requested me to acknowledge your kind letter of the 27th December. 1918, and to thank you for the interesting "White Book" of the Dodecanese, which you were good enough to send him. With best wishes, Sincerely yours, Gilbert F. Close, For the President. Dr. Skevos Zervos. 60 FOREIGN OFFICE, Gentlemen. I am desired by Mr. Secretary Balfour to thank you for sending to him a copy of the White Book of the Dodecanese which he is very glad to possess. Yours faithfully, Ian Malcolm. Messieurs, Dr. Skevos Zervos Paris Roussos 24. 12. 18. 17, Great College Street, S. W. 13th, January 1919. Dear Sir, Lord Milner asks me to acknowledge and thank you for the copy of the White Book of the Dodecanese, which you have kindly sent him. Yours faithfully, Clara Smith. Dr. Skevos Zervos. 61 lu, Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W.I, January 13th, 1019. Dear Sir, I am desired by the Prime Minister to acknowledge the receipt of your letter and to thank you for the White Book of the Dodecanese which you kindly sent him. Yours faithfully, Ernest Evans. Dr. Skevos Zervos. f>2 FOREIGN OFFICE, December 11th, 1918. Dear Sirs, I have to acknowledge with thanks the receipt oi' your letter of the 7th enclosing a copy of the memorandum addressed by you to the Prime Minister on the subject of the reunion of the Dodecanese with Greece. Yours very truly, Robert Cecil. Dr. Skevos Zervos Paris Roussos FOREIGN OFFICE, December 21st, 1918. Dear Sir, I am desired by the Lord Robert Cecil to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your letter of December 19th, enclosing the White Book of the Dodecanese. Yours very truly, C. F. Dormer. Dr. Skevos Zervos, 63 (TELEGRAM) CAIRO, 6 February, 1919.- Dr. Skevos Zervos et Paris Roussos, Representants du Dodecanese, 18, Old Burlington Street, LONDON. Le Gomite Central des Dodecanesiens representant de plusieurs milliers des originaires du Dodecanese residant en Egypte vous donne mandat et pouvoir de le representer devant la Conference de Paris et partout ou besoin sera et de proclamer la volonte fer- ine de tous les Dodecanesiens de s'unir a la Grece. Les aspira- tions de nos compatriotes ont ete a plusieurs reprises exposees aupres les puissances alliees et recemment par la resolution votee le premier Decembre par Assemblee generale Dodecanesiens E- gypte interpretant les sentiments de tous les habitants des lies et au President Venizelos. Les assemblies encore des Dodecane- siens tenues a Port-Said, Ismailieh, Suez et Caire en Janvier par un vote remis aux representants des Puissances alliees ont affirme que les habitants des lies n'accepteront aucune autre solution que celle de leur union avec la Grece etant decides en cas contraire de s'opposer par tous les moyens dont un peuple opprime et des- espere peut disposer. Pour le Comite Central Dodecanesiens, Constantin Manolakis et Paris Beilenis. 64' THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. 9th, February, 1919. To His Excellency, PRESIDENT WILSON, PARIS. Your Excellency, We have the honour to notify your Excellency that a mass meeting- of the entire Dodecanese on Nov. 8th/22nd, 1918, passed, yet once more, a resolution voicing the one desire, the secular longing of the islands for union with their mother-country Greece, and we are requested by a telegram received to-day, to acquaint your Excellency with this fact. In pursuance of this duty laid upon us by our country, we have the honour to inform your Excellency, that, contrary to all law human or divine, the Dodecanesians are still subjected to intolerable oppression and persecution, and that there has been no relaxation of the terrible and sinister blockade of the islands, so that the dearth of food-stuffs is extreme, deaths from starvation are many, medicaments are unobtainable, and influenza is raging and taking appalling toll of the population. To your Excellency, the President of the United States of America, as representing the justice and freedom of the world, we protest with all our hearts; we protest against this inhumanity, against this unparalleled tyranny which aims at annihilating the noble people of the Dodeca- nese, who look to you to secure them justice and liberty. We respectfully beg your Excellency to be good enough to intervene energetically and we remain with profound respect, Your obedient Servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. 65 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. 9th, February, 1919. To His Excellency, the Right Honourable, DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 10. Downing Street, London, S.W.I. Your Excellency, We have the honour to notify your Excellency that a mass meeting of the entire Dodecanese on Nov. 8th/22nd, 1918, passed, yet once more, a resolution voicing the one desire, the secular longing of the islands for union with their mother-country Greece, and we are requested by a telegram received to-day, to acquaint your Excellency with this fact. In pursuance of this duty laid upon us by our country, we have the honour to inform your Excellency, that, contrary to all law human or divine, the Dodecanesians are still subjected to intolerable oppression and persecution, and that there has been no relaxation of the terrible and sinister blockade of the islands, so that the dearth of food-stuffs is extreme, deaths from starvation are many, medicaments are unobtainable, and influenza is raging and taking appalling toll of the population. To your Excellency, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, as representing the justice and freedom of the world, we protest with all our hearts; we protest against this inhumanity, against this unparalleled tyranny which aims at annihilating the noble people of the Dodeca- nese, who look to you to secure them justice and liberty. We respectfully beg your Excellency to be good enough to intervene energetically and we remain with profound respect, Your obedient Servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Com mill ee of the Dodecanesian>. (Hi DODECANESE. 9th, February, 19 i 9. To His Excellency, M. GEORGES CLEMENCEAU, President du Gonseil des Ministres du Gouvernement de la Republique Francaise, PARIS. Your Excellency, We have the honour to notify your Excellency that a mass meeting of the entire Dodecanese on Nov. 8th/22nd, 1918, passed, yet once more, a resolution voicing - the one desire, the secular longing - of the islands for union with their'mother-country Greece, and we are requested by a telegram received to-day, to acquaint your Excellency with this fact. In pursuance of this duty laid upon us by our country, we have the honour to inform your Excellency, that, contrary to all law human or divine, the Dodecanesians are still subjected to intolerable oppression and persecution, and that there has been no relaxation of the terrible and sinister blockade of the islands, so that the dearth of food-stuffs is extreme, deaths from starvation are many, medicaments are unobtainable, and influenza is raging and taking appalling toll of the population. To your Excellency, the Prime Minister of France, as representing the liberty and civilisation of the world, we protest with all our hearts; we protest against this inhumanity, against this unparalleled tyranny which aims at annihilating the noble people of the Dodeca- nese, who look to you to secure them justice and liberty. We respectfully beg your Excellency to be good enough to intervene energetically and we remain with profound respect, Your obedient Servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. 67 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE DODECANESE. (TELEGRAM) 10th February, 1919. The Right Honourable ARTHUR J. BALFOUR, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, PARIS. Your Excellency, We have the honour to communicate to you the following document, which we have just addressed to His Excellency the Prime Minister at Downing Street. We remain, Your Excellency's obedient Servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. " Your Excellency, We have the honour to notify your Excellency that a mass meeting of the entire Dodecanese on Nov. 8th/22nd, 1918, passed, yet once more, a resolution voicing the one desire, the secular 68 longing of the islands for union with their mother-country Greece, and we are requested by a telegram received to-day, to acquaint your Excellency with this fact. In pursuance of this duty laid upon us by our country, we have the honour to inform your Excellency, that, contrary to all law human or divine, the Dodecanesians are still subjected to intolerable oppression and persecution, and that there has been no relaxation of the terrible and sinister blockade of the islands, so that the dearth of food-stuffs is extreme, deaths from starvation are many, medicaments are unobtainable, and influenza is raging and taking appalling toll of the population. To your Excellency, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, as representing the justice and freedom of the world, we protest with all our hearts; we protest against this inhumanity, against this unparalleled tyranny which aims at annihilating the noble people of the Dodecanese, who look to you to secure them justice and liberty. We respectfully beg your Excellency to be good enough to intervene energetically and we remain with profound respect, Your obedient Servants, Dr. Skevos Zervos, Paris Roussos, The Executive Committee of the Dodecanesians. ' 09 10, Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W. llth February, 1919. Dear Sir, I am desired by the Prime Minister to acknowledge the receipt of the Resolution which you forward on behalf of the Executive Committee of the inhabitants of the Dodecanese. Yours failhfully, J. T. Davies. Dr. Skevos Zervos, The Executive Committee of the Inhabitants of the Dodecanese, Burlington Chambers, 18-- 19, Old Burlington Street, W.l. PRIME MINISTER. 70 Compiled by Dr. Skevos Zervos and Paris Roussos. Printed by A. Page & Co., 31-34, Foley Street, W.l RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg.400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF • Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW SENT ON ILL MAR 1 6 2000 U. C. BERKELEY M30434O THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY