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HURRIYET: Nov 12, 08
Gönül blunders in remark on history
ANKARA - With remarks in honor of Atatürk, the ruling AKP's defense
minister recalls the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey
after World War I, attracting criticism for his nationalist language
and the drift toward pro-state stances.
The population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, which led
hundreds of thousands of people to leave their ancestral homelands,
was revisited by a politician recently, putting the controversial
85-year process under scrutiny.
At the Turkish Embassy in Brussels on Monday, Defense Minister Vecdi
Gönül said the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923
was a necessary step toward building a nation-state at the time.
The Prime Minister has recently come under fire for his use of more
nationalist language and pro-state policies on some critical political
issues, including the Kurdish problem, but this time it was Gönül who
embraced the nationalist discourse.
"One of the great achievements of Atatürk, who abolished the caliphate
to establish a nation, is the population exchange between Greece and
Turkey in 1923," he said, speaking at the commemoration of the 70th
anniversary of the death of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk. "Could Turkey be the same national country had the Greek
community still lived in the Aegean or Armenians lived in many parts
of Turkey. We can't ignore the contribution of those [the Armenians]
who feel themselves victim due to the expulsion that resulted in the
removal of many Armenians from Anatolia."
Although Gönül made a public excuse saying his words were
misunderstood, the experts reacted strongly to his remarks.
"A nation-building process is
a homogeneity project and was what all the world's countries were
trying to do at that time. He didn't bring attention to this fact,
instead he presented the issue as if the population exchange was a
desirable and positive thing," Soli Özel, political science professor
at Bilgi University told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic
Review. "He was expected to say that after 80 years the move has
resulted in social and cultural impoverishment for Turkey," he said.
Gönül also said neither Greece nor Turkey wanted different religious
elements in their societies as they formed their identity at the time,
implying that it wasn't a one-sided event and the exchange was
desirable by both communities.
The exchange took place between Turkish citizens of the Greek Orthodox
religion established in Turkish territory and of Greek citizens of the
Muslim religion established in Greek territory under the Treaty of
Lausanne signed by the Greek and Turkish governments in 1923. About
400,000 Turks moved from Greece to Anatolia and about 1.1 million
Greeks moved from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace to Greece in the
exchange.
Racist discourse
For retired ambassador Yalým Eralp, Gönül's remarks were unfortunate
as his remarks echoed of racist language. "Should the existence of
Turks in Germany disturb Germany, for instance?" he said.
"Turkey was a war-weary country at the time and it had some concerns
about its unity. The exchange was vital in the social and political
context of the time. Gönül however ignores these facts; his intention
is totally different. His remarks are racist," Eralp said.
Criticizing Gönül's remarks, Professor Baskýn Oran said the
displacement of Greeks and Armenians from Anatolia delayed Turkey's
industrialization, economically speaking, by at least 50 years and the
ethnic and religious cleanups eliminated Turkey's pluralism,
politically speaking.
Oran implied it was the deep conservatism and limited worldview
embraced by both the founders of and voters for the ruling Justice and
Development Party that have inspired its politicians to reveal such
thoughts. Other political scientists related the population exchange
to the 14 points, a peace program presented at the end of World War I
by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson is defense of autonomous development
for non-Turkish people of the Ottoman Empire.
Homogeneus society
For Nilüfer Narlý, sociology professor at Bahçeþehir University, the
story had two sides and its historical context should be considered.
"In the 1920's we didn't talk about multi-cultural societies. It is
something that we talk about right now, in the 21st century. The
concepts of nation-state and nationalism were the dominating ideas at
the time," she said. "Likewise not only Turkey but Greece tried to
establish an identity and society based on homogeneity. Greece sought
a new national identity and developed one by differentiating itself
from all elements related to the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish
Republic. Even the hostility became part of their new identity," she
said.
Foreign policy expert Mensur Akgün, meanwhile, said Gönül had no right
to make such sociological and political comments on population
exchange, a topic current international law considers a crime. "He
praises a Turkish nation that hosts no minorities. He doesn't see the
multi-cultural composition of the society," he said.
Gönül blunders in remark on history
ANKARA - With remarks in honor of Atatürk, the ruling AKP's defense
minister recalls the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey
after World War I, attracting criticism for his nationalist language
and the drift toward pro-state stances.
The population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, which led
hundreds of thousands of people to leave their ancestral homelands,
was revisited by a politician recently, putting the controversial
85-year process under scrutiny.
At the Turkish Embassy in Brussels on Monday, Defense Minister Vecdi
Gönül said the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923
was a necessary step toward building a nation-state at the time.
The Prime Minister has recently come under fire for his use of more
nationalist language and pro-state policies on some critical political
issues, including the Kurdish problem, but this time it was Gönül who
embraced the nationalist discourse.
"One of the great achievements of Atatürk, who abolished the caliphate
to establish a nation, is the population exchange between Greece and
Turkey in 1923," he said, speaking at the commemoration of the 70th
anniversary of the death of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk. "Could Turkey be the same national country had the Greek
community still lived in the Aegean or Armenians lived in many parts
of Turkey. We can't ignore the contribution of those [the Armenians]
who feel themselves victim due to the expulsion that resulted in the
removal of many Armenians from Anatolia."
Although Gönül made a public excuse saying his words were
misunderstood, the experts reacted strongly to his remarks.
"A nation-building process is
a homogeneity project and was what all the world's countries were
trying to do at that time. He didn't bring attention to this fact,
instead he presented the issue as if the population exchange was a
desirable and positive thing," Soli Özel, political science professor
at Bilgi University told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic
Review. "He was expected to say that after 80 years the move has
resulted in social and cultural impoverishment for Turkey," he said.
Gönül also said neither Greece nor Turkey wanted different religious
elements in their societies as they formed their identity at the time,
implying that it wasn't a one-sided event and the exchange was
desirable by both communities.
The exchange took place between Turkish citizens of the Greek Orthodox
religion established in Turkish territory and of Greek citizens of the
Muslim religion established in Greek territory under the Treaty of
Lausanne signed by the Greek and Turkish governments in 1923. About
400,000 Turks moved from Greece to Anatolia and about 1.1 million
Greeks moved from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace to Greece in the
exchange.
Racist discourse
For retired ambassador Yalým Eralp, Gönül's remarks were unfortunate
as his remarks echoed of racist language. "Should the existence of
Turks in Germany disturb Germany, for instance?" he said.
"Turkey was a war-weary country at the time and it had some concerns
about its unity. The exchange was vital in the social and political
context of the time. Gönül however ignores these facts; his intention
is totally different. His remarks are racist," Eralp said.
Criticizing Gönül's remarks, Professor Baskýn Oran said the
displacement of Greeks and Armenians from Anatolia delayed Turkey's
industrialization, economically speaking, by at least 50 years and the
ethnic and religious cleanups eliminated Turkey's pluralism,
politically speaking.
Oran implied it was the deep conservatism and limited worldview
embraced by both the founders of and voters for the ruling Justice and
Development Party that have inspired its politicians to reveal such
thoughts. Other political scientists related the population exchange
to the 14 points, a peace program presented at the end of World War I
by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson is defense of autonomous development
for non-Turkish people of the Ottoman Empire.
Homogeneus society
For Nilüfer Narlý, sociology professor at Bahçeþehir University, the
story had two sides and its historical context should be considered.
"In the 1920's we didn't talk about multi-cultural societies. It is
something that we talk about right now, in the 21st century. The
concepts of nation-state and nationalism were the dominating ideas at
the time," she said. "Likewise not only Turkey but Greece tried to
establish an identity and society based on homogeneity. Greece sought
a new national identity and developed one by differentiating itself
from all elements related to the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish
Republic. Even the hostility became part of their new identity," she
said.
Foreign policy expert Mensur Akgün, meanwhile, said Gönül had no right
to make such sociological and political comments on population
exchange, a topic current international law considers a crime. "He
praises a Turkish nation that hosts no minorities. He doesn't see the
multi-cultural composition of the society," he said.