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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 25 2009
Association launches campaign to confront Turkey's 'unofficial'
history
"Only countries that have confronted their past have been able to
realize their democratization process. A society that wants to
confront its past has to question its heroes and sacred values," says
Aytekin Yılmaz, the general coordinator of the Association of
Confronting the Past and Researching Social Events (Toplumsal
Olayları AraÅ?tırma ve YüzleÅ?me
DerneÄ?i).
The association was established with the support of human rights
activists and the Young Civilians, a civil society group known for its
use of sarcasm in protests, and is composed of many prominent
intellectuals, including AyÅ?e Hür, Tanıl Bora,
Mithan Sancar, Etyen Mahçupyan and Mesut YiÄ?en.
The association, whose motto is `Those who don't understand history
are doomed to repeat it,' believes that if the gangs of the early days
of the republic had been convicted, the Turkey of today probably would
not have to deal with the Ergenekon gang, a clandestine terrorist
organization nested within state organs and charged with plotting to
overthrow the government.
According to Yılmaz, the Ergenekon investigation is an
important step in confronting the past.
`A society that is not able to control its military is a doomed
society. The military has been a founding element throughout the
history of Turks, including the republic. The Ergenekon investigation
led to it being questioned. If the investigation continues further
east than Sivas, the way toward confrontation with the past will be
opened,' he says.
He says the common theme between Ergenekon suspects -- their
opposition to European Union values -- calls to mind an event in
history known as Vaka-i Hayriye (the Auspicious Incident), which
resulted in the abolishment of the Janissary army of the Ottoman
Empire.
`Ottoman Sultan Selim III wanted to change the structure of the army
and realign it with the values of the West. He was not
successful. Twenty years after him, Mahmud II was able to do so. It
was a bloody event. Of course, as an association that is against all
kinds of violence, we don't mean a bloody event. But if the Ergenekon
investigation enlarges and also discovers what really happened in
Kurdish populated areas, it could be a new Vaka-i Hayriye.'
Yılmaz says the state does not want to confront the past since
it is not ready to apologize and society does not strongly demand
confrontation, making their aim difficult to reach.
`The burden of the past is extremely heavy, and we cannot talk about
society's courage in carrying it, but still, we don't think we are
demanding too much. We aim to question the official history,'
Yılmaz underlines, adding that this is why they launched a
campaign called `Unofficial Republic' together with the Association of
Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER).
According to them, since the very beginning, there were two faces to
the republic: One of them was the official ideology that the citizens
were born to and the other an unofficial republic composed of people
who were excluded from the official republic -- political opponents,
Kurds, religious people, Alevis and minorities.
As part of the Unofficial Republic campaign, the association will
organize a number of events during the year, the first of which will
be an inquiry into five Turkish intellectuals who were victims of
summary executions:
`Although we call them assassinations by unknown perpetrators, the
truth is they were killed by `deep' forces,' Yılmaz says. The
five intellectuals whose assassinations will be discussed are Mustafa
Suphi, a Turkish communist leader who was killed with 15 of his
friends in the year 1920; Ali Å?ükrü, a deputy and
the leader of the opposition against Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who
was killed by Atatürk's bodyguard; Sabahattin Ali, a novelist
who was killed because of his political views; Musa Anter, a Kurdish
poet killed by JÄ°TEM; and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, who was assassinated two years ago.
`The official republic continues manipulating society and trying to
make it believe its official history. Societies that are not able to
discuss their heroes and sacred values cannot confront and reconcile
with their past; we have to think about our heroes,' Yılmaz
says.
Toward this aim, the association has another campaign of apology and
recompense. Researchers will look into some names from history and
re-evaluate them, for example, Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, one of the very
first justice ministers of the republic, and Hüseyin Avni
UlaÅ?, who was an opponent of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
`The Ä°stanbul Bar Association presents awards in the name of
Bozkurt. His name is given to streets in many cities; he is respected
greatly. Remember that he said, `Everything in this country belongs to
Turks, and other peoples in this country have only one freedom -- to
be slaves of the Turks.' For example, Hüseyin Avni UlaÅ?,
who was tried in court for allegedly being involved in an
assassination attempt against Atatürk in 1926 and later
acquitted, was actually a deputy who opposed every undemocratic
decision of the time, including the Ä°stiklal Mahkemeleri
[Independence Courts],' Yılmaz says. The İstiklal
Mahkemeleri were extra powerful courts established in the early days
of the republic to try the opponents of the republican regime.
He underlines that when researching the unofficial history of the
republic, there is no paucity of sources. `Actually there is paucity
of research into the unofficial history of the republic. The same
sources of the official history can be used, too. It depends on how
you read them,' he says.
But Yılmaz adds that establishments that research history
should be independent, and this is why they will soon launch a
campaign for the abolishment of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).
He also points out that there are disagreements over where they should
begin confronting the past, whether they should start from the
earliest or the most recent events.
`It is possible to start from 1915 or from the assassination of
Dink. But it is preferable to start with recent events since the
memory of society is fresh,' Yılmaz says.
According to him, the official history of the republic is militarist,
and most official historians are racists. `It is very difficult for
official historians to be independent because it would mean that they
have to contradict themselves and all the work they have done until
now.'
`As long as the domination of the military over civil society
continues, it is impossible to confront the past. The relationship
between society and the military is like being in love with the
executioner. The second obstacle is the lack of independence of
universities. In order to confront the past and reconcile with it, a
new language is needed,' Yılmaz emphasizes.
25 January 2009, Sunday
AYÅ?E KARABAT Ä°STANBUL
Jan 25 2009
Association launches campaign to confront Turkey's 'unofficial'
history
"Only countries that have confronted their past have been able to
realize their democratization process. A society that wants to
confront its past has to question its heroes and sacred values," says
Aytekin Yılmaz, the general coordinator of the Association of
Confronting the Past and Researching Social Events (Toplumsal
Olayları AraÅ?tırma ve YüzleÅ?me
DerneÄ?i).
The association was established with the support of human rights
activists and the Young Civilians, a civil society group known for its
use of sarcasm in protests, and is composed of many prominent
intellectuals, including AyÅ?e Hür, Tanıl Bora,
Mithan Sancar, Etyen Mahçupyan and Mesut YiÄ?en.
The association, whose motto is `Those who don't understand history
are doomed to repeat it,' believes that if the gangs of the early days
of the republic had been convicted, the Turkey of today probably would
not have to deal with the Ergenekon gang, a clandestine terrorist
organization nested within state organs and charged with plotting to
overthrow the government.
According to Yılmaz, the Ergenekon investigation is an
important step in confronting the past.
`A society that is not able to control its military is a doomed
society. The military has been a founding element throughout the
history of Turks, including the republic. The Ergenekon investigation
led to it being questioned. If the investigation continues further
east than Sivas, the way toward confrontation with the past will be
opened,' he says.
He says the common theme between Ergenekon suspects -- their
opposition to European Union values -- calls to mind an event in
history known as Vaka-i Hayriye (the Auspicious Incident), which
resulted in the abolishment of the Janissary army of the Ottoman
Empire.
`Ottoman Sultan Selim III wanted to change the structure of the army
and realign it with the values of the West. He was not
successful. Twenty years after him, Mahmud II was able to do so. It
was a bloody event. Of course, as an association that is against all
kinds of violence, we don't mean a bloody event. But if the Ergenekon
investigation enlarges and also discovers what really happened in
Kurdish populated areas, it could be a new Vaka-i Hayriye.'
Yılmaz says the state does not want to confront the past since
it is not ready to apologize and society does not strongly demand
confrontation, making their aim difficult to reach.
`The burden of the past is extremely heavy, and we cannot talk about
society's courage in carrying it, but still, we don't think we are
demanding too much. We aim to question the official history,'
Yılmaz underlines, adding that this is why they launched a
campaign called `Unofficial Republic' together with the Association of
Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER).
According to them, since the very beginning, there were two faces to
the republic: One of them was the official ideology that the citizens
were born to and the other an unofficial republic composed of people
who were excluded from the official republic -- political opponents,
Kurds, religious people, Alevis and minorities.
As part of the Unofficial Republic campaign, the association will
organize a number of events during the year, the first of which will
be an inquiry into five Turkish intellectuals who were victims of
summary executions:
`Although we call them assassinations by unknown perpetrators, the
truth is they were killed by `deep' forces,' Yılmaz says. The
five intellectuals whose assassinations will be discussed are Mustafa
Suphi, a Turkish communist leader who was killed with 15 of his
friends in the year 1920; Ali Å?ükrü, a deputy and
the leader of the opposition against Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who
was killed by Atatürk's bodyguard; Sabahattin Ali, a novelist
who was killed because of his political views; Musa Anter, a Kurdish
poet killed by JÄ°TEM; and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, who was assassinated two years ago.
`The official republic continues manipulating society and trying to
make it believe its official history. Societies that are not able to
discuss their heroes and sacred values cannot confront and reconcile
with their past; we have to think about our heroes,' Yılmaz
says.
Toward this aim, the association has another campaign of apology and
recompense. Researchers will look into some names from history and
re-evaluate them, for example, Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, one of the very
first justice ministers of the republic, and Hüseyin Avni
UlaÅ?, who was an opponent of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
`The Ä°stanbul Bar Association presents awards in the name of
Bozkurt. His name is given to streets in many cities; he is respected
greatly. Remember that he said, `Everything in this country belongs to
Turks, and other peoples in this country have only one freedom -- to
be slaves of the Turks.' For example, Hüseyin Avni UlaÅ?,
who was tried in court for allegedly being involved in an
assassination attempt against Atatürk in 1926 and later
acquitted, was actually a deputy who opposed every undemocratic
decision of the time, including the Ä°stiklal Mahkemeleri
[Independence Courts],' Yılmaz says. The İstiklal
Mahkemeleri were extra powerful courts established in the early days
of the republic to try the opponents of the republican regime.
He underlines that when researching the unofficial history of the
republic, there is no paucity of sources. `Actually there is paucity
of research into the unofficial history of the republic. The same
sources of the official history can be used, too. It depends on how
you read them,' he says.
But Yılmaz adds that establishments that research history
should be independent, and this is why they will soon launch a
campaign for the abolishment of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).
He also points out that there are disagreements over where they should
begin confronting the past, whether they should start from the
earliest or the most recent events.
`It is possible to start from 1915 or from the assassination of
Dink. But it is preferable to start with recent events since the
memory of society is fresh,' Yılmaz says.
According to him, the official history of the republic is militarist,
and most official historians are racists. `It is very difficult for
official historians to be independent because it would mean that they
have to contradict themselves and all the work they have done until
now.'
`As long as the domination of the military over civil society
continues, it is impossible to confront the past. The relationship
between society and the military is like being in love with the
executioner. The second obstacle is the lack of independence of
universities. In order to confront the past and reconcile with it, a
new language is needed,' Yılmaz emphasizes.
25 January 2009, Sunday
AYÅ?E KARABAT Ä°STANBUL