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TURKEY'S SCHIZOPHRENIA - YOUNG TURKS, OLD TURKS
By Dr Fereydun Hilmi
Kurdish Media, UK
Feb 6 2007
There must have been a time when the Turks thought straight before
they suffered the enormous humiliation at the hands of the British and
French occupiers and their oppressive "Capitulation Laws" allowing
a British or French soldier virtually a free hand in insulting and
overpowering any Turk they wished. My Father describes this condition
vividly in his famous Yaddasgt (Memoirs), in which he also talks
of being personally emotionally moved to the point of having tears
streaming down his cheeks as a result of listening to a young Turkish
poet, disgruntled by all of it. The incident was in 1920 in front of
the mausoleum adorning the front courtyard of the Sultan Ahmad Mosque.
I recite this incident to demonstrate the kind of spirit we possessed
as Kurds and I am sure also the Armenians and other minorities in
the Ottoman Empire and general feeling of belonging and love of our
common homeland which was the entire empire estate.
It was Attaturk who recommended the cocooning of the nation indeed
a hard nationalistic shell after getting rid of the Kurdish leaders
whom he duped into accepting his promises of autonomy and democratic
participation. However we all know that Attaturk was a revel himself
and had a great deal against the ottoman rulers who appointed him
Commander of all the forces in Anatolia in what they considered a
kind of exile to get rid of him. Why then do his modern followers and
those who followed him since his death refuse to admit their mistakes,
treacherous dealings and collaboration with the invaders?
The answer may be nationalistic and racist particularly when it comes
to admitting the Armenian "Homocide", (this is a new term I invent
to avoid the word Genocide which seems to be too cruel for British
and US ears).
And given that we all had a sense of belonging to that homeland what
is it that caused the division which ensued and the animosity which
has been created and enflamed lasting to the year 2003?
The keen observer will see the creation of a state out of the remnants
of the empire based on a single race and dedicated to the service of
one nation of the old emoire albeit a major one. All others must become
subservient and never claim different nationality or language. What is
worse is the fact that this new Turkey which fought the old Sultanate
and Empire is now refusing to admit that those who ruled before had
made any mistakes or committed any crimes.
Today Turkey is in need of all the help it can get. So far they have
received financial and military help as would Pakistan or Afghanistan
or even Yemen. But I know Turkey considers itself a great nation with
empire pedigree and is not a country created by the British as weak
and third-class client states. It is for the Turks to ascertain their
cultural pedigree and e1st century thinking and enlightenment. The
days of the fascist state are over and all nations of the world are
looking to co-exit, those in one state are longing to preserve and
enjoy their full rights and to contribute to the society in every
possible way. Rejecting Kurdish rights and refusing to recognise the
Homocide of the Armenians does not make Turkey a more respectable
country but a much less respected one for it is better to admit the
crimes of a group of blood-thirsty Turks who lived 101 years ago for
a short and turbulent period than to deny it ever happened and thus
be regarded as a stubborn, guilty and mindless nation for the rest of
your lives. I do not think any wise person would want to shoulder the
crimes of some people who lived 101 years ago when you could easily
attribute the crimes to those have been long since dead. Denial means
one thing only: That the Turks support what happened and would not
hesitate to commit the same again. That impression surely is not in
the best interests of Turkey and the Turks.
I am sure not only Kurds, Armenians and Laz people are at the bad end
of Turkish belligerence but many, many Turks as well. I also suspect
that the strict and police-state-like system in Turkey is suffered
by all because of Turkish feeling that the Kurds and Armenians are
the enemies within who will take the first opportunity to split the
country into smaller nations. Thus if only Turkey makes its peace
with these two major minorities within the state they will not have
anything to fear and ordinary Turks would also be liberated from the
rule of the Generals and the "Old Turks".
It is time Turkey including the Kurds and Armenians became the
important nations of the Middle East as well as the entire ex-Ottoman
nations such as the Arabs and Greeks. These nations together gave the
greatest human potential in the world and it is time they contributed
that potential to the advancement of mankind pushing away the
oppressive and decadent values of Bushman and his Robin.
By Dr Fereydun Hilmi
Kurdish Media, UK
Feb 6 2007
There must have been a time when the Turks thought straight before
they suffered the enormous humiliation at the hands of the British and
French occupiers and their oppressive "Capitulation Laws" allowing
a British or French soldier virtually a free hand in insulting and
overpowering any Turk they wished. My Father describes this condition
vividly in his famous Yaddasgt (Memoirs), in which he also talks
of being personally emotionally moved to the point of having tears
streaming down his cheeks as a result of listening to a young Turkish
poet, disgruntled by all of it. The incident was in 1920 in front of
the mausoleum adorning the front courtyard of the Sultan Ahmad Mosque.
I recite this incident to demonstrate the kind of spirit we possessed
as Kurds and I am sure also the Armenians and other minorities in
the Ottoman Empire and general feeling of belonging and love of our
common homeland which was the entire empire estate.
It was Attaturk who recommended the cocooning of the nation indeed
a hard nationalistic shell after getting rid of the Kurdish leaders
whom he duped into accepting his promises of autonomy and democratic
participation. However we all know that Attaturk was a revel himself
and had a great deal against the ottoman rulers who appointed him
Commander of all the forces in Anatolia in what they considered a
kind of exile to get rid of him. Why then do his modern followers and
those who followed him since his death refuse to admit their mistakes,
treacherous dealings and collaboration with the invaders?
The answer may be nationalistic and racist particularly when it comes
to admitting the Armenian "Homocide", (this is a new term I invent
to avoid the word Genocide which seems to be too cruel for British
and US ears).
And given that we all had a sense of belonging to that homeland what
is it that caused the division which ensued and the animosity which
has been created and enflamed lasting to the year 2003?
The keen observer will see the creation of a state out of the remnants
of the empire based on a single race and dedicated to the service of
one nation of the old emoire albeit a major one. All others must become
subservient and never claim different nationality or language. What is
worse is the fact that this new Turkey which fought the old Sultanate
and Empire is now refusing to admit that those who ruled before had
made any mistakes or committed any crimes.
Today Turkey is in need of all the help it can get. So far they have
received financial and military help as would Pakistan or Afghanistan
or even Yemen. But I know Turkey considers itself a great nation with
empire pedigree and is not a country created by the British as weak
and third-class client states. It is for the Turks to ascertain their
cultural pedigree and e1st century thinking and enlightenment. The
days of the fascist state are over and all nations of the world are
looking to co-exit, those in one state are longing to preserve and
enjoy their full rights and to contribute to the society in every
possible way. Rejecting Kurdish rights and refusing to recognise the
Homocide of the Armenians does not make Turkey a more respectable
country but a much less respected one for it is better to admit the
crimes of a group of blood-thirsty Turks who lived 101 years ago for
a short and turbulent period than to deny it ever happened and thus
be regarded as a stubborn, guilty and mindless nation for the rest of
your lives. I do not think any wise person would want to shoulder the
crimes of some people who lived 101 years ago when you could easily
attribute the crimes to those have been long since dead. Denial means
one thing only: That the Turks support what happened and would not
hesitate to commit the same again. That impression surely is not in
the best interests of Turkey and the Turks.
I am sure not only Kurds, Armenians and Laz people are at the bad end
of Turkish belligerence but many, many Turks as well. I also suspect
that the strict and police-state-like system in Turkey is suffered
by all because of Turkish feeling that the Kurds and Armenians are
the enemies within who will take the first opportunity to split the
country into smaller nations. Thus if only Turkey makes its peace
with these two major minorities within the state they will not have
anything to fear and ordinary Turks would also be liberated from the
rule of the Generals and the "Old Turks".
It is time Turkey including the Kurds and Armenians became the
important nations of the Middle East as well as the entire ex-Ottoman
nations such as the Arabs and Greeks. These nations together gave the
greatest human potential in the world and it is time they contributed
that potential to the advancement of mankind pushing away the
oppressive and decadent values of Bushman and his Robin.