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ANKARA: Oymen's Dersim Remarks Draw Ire Of Alevis

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  • ANKARA: Oymen's Dersim Remarks Draw Ire Of Alevis

    OYMEN'S DERSIM REMARKS DRAW IRE OF ALEVIS

    Today's Zaman
    Nov 13 2009
    Turkey

    Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Oymen has angered
    Turkey's Alevi community by referring to the Turkish government's
    response to a 1937 rebellion in the predominantly Alevi city of
    Tunceli, then known as Dersim, as an example of fighting terrorism.

    During a speech he delivered on Tuesday in Parliament in criticism of
    the government's Kurdish initiative, which seeks to extend the rights
    of Kurds in Turkey to alleviate and ultimately end the separatist
    terrorism of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Oymen said: "Didn't
    mothers also cry at the time of the Sheikh Said Rebellion? Didn't
    mothers also cry at the time of the Dersim Rebellion?" in response to
    the phrase "Let no more mothers cry," frequently used by the government
    as part of its efforts to end the PKK's campaign of terrorism.

    The rebellion took place in 1937 in Dersim, which had historically
    been a semi-autonomous region. Dersim was renamed Tunceli after the
    rebellion. The rebellion was led by Seyyid Riza, the chief of a Zaza
    tribe in the region. The Turkish government of the time, led by Ä°smet
    İnönu, responded with air strikes against the rebels.

    Oymen's reference to the Dersim rebels as an example of terrorism
    drew anger and resentment from the country's Alevis and Zazas.

    Sinan Yerlikaya, a former CHP deputy from Tunceli who is currently
    on the CHP party council, said the state's suppression of the Dersim
    Rebellion was "barbaric and cruel." He said there was nothing to
    defend about how Turkey handled the rebellion.

    Yerlikaya said: "The method of suppression cannot be defended in
    any way. Some people might be against the order, but if these people
    do not have the aim to destroy the state, all problems can be solve
    through communication."

    Ferhat Tunc, a folk singer from Tunceli, commented, saying: "I
    watched that speech in horror. I see this as a racist, skull-measuring
    approach. In my opinion, Onur Oymen committed a crime against humanity
    with his discourse."

    Enver Devletli, an official of the Tunceli Pir Sultan Abdal
    Association, agreed, saying Oymen was a "racist." He added: "Oymen
    made a statement in line with the general fascist approach of the CHP.

    I condemn his words."

    Baykal lashes out at Oymen

    CHP leader Deniz Baykal was also angered by Oymen's remark. Speaking
    on Tuesday to his party's Central Executive Board (MYK), Baykal
    criticized Oymen's statement, saying: "Such evaluations are open to
    misinterpretations and might potentially damage the CHP's policy of
    peace and brotherhood. There is no logic in voicing such sentences
    regarding sensitive topics."

    He also said he had received many reactions from party members who
    called him after Oymen's speech. "The Dersim example wasn't chic at
    all. Citizens are very sensitive about this topic. I do not want such
    statements again," Baykal said.

    Meanwhile, CHP Tunceli-born Deputy Chairman Yılmaz AteÅ~_, Deputy
    Chairman Mesut Deger and MYK member Sırrı Ozbek also harshly
    criticized Oymen. CHP Tunceli branch leader Huseyin GuneÅ~_ defined
    Oymen's statement as "unfortunate." He also said they had received wide
    complaints from all parts of Tunceli after the statement. "I will talk
    about this face-to-face with the general headquarters administration,"
    he said.

    'The CHP should apologize'

    The events of 1937 in Dersim were tragic, and the violence employed by
    the state came close to genocide, according to Celal Karagöz, deputy
    chairman of Tunceli's Hacı BektaÅ~_-ı Veli Culture Association. "If
    he made this statement to mean that a similar method should be
    employed in similar events after this date, this is a very unfortunate
    statement."

    Dogan Bernek, head of the Federation of Alevi Foundations, said:
    "I was deeply saddened when I watched Onur Oymen's speech. It was
    a speech that well exceeded the intended purpose. He used the most
    inappropriate arguments fit for a discussion."

    Liberal Thought Society Alevi-BektaÅ~_i Research Center Director
    Å~^enol Kaluc said the CHP should apologize for Oymen's statements.

    Tunceli Mayor Edibe Å~^ahin said living witnesses described the
    handling of the Dersim Rebellion as a "massacre." She said: "We,
    the residents of this place, duly note how the CHP sees what went on
    here. It is time for the CHP to confront its own past and the truth."

    Democratic Society Party's (DTP) Tunceli deputy Å~^erafettin Halis
    was also angry. "We were the victims of the rebellion in Dersim. We
    were the ones who died, who were killed."

    CHP parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, who was
    born in Tunceli, was placed in a difficult position by Oymen's words.

    Kılıcdaroglu avoided commenting on the speech.

    Part of CHP history

    A harsh response to Oymen's words about the Dersim Rebellion came from
    Star columnist Ergun Babahan, who responded by saying: "Did any mother
    cry in Dersim? No, none did because there was no mother left to cry.

    All were killed along with their babies in their arms. Nobody knows
    how many died or were killed in the incidents of 1937 and 1938."

    Babahan quoted Muhsin Batur, a senior air force commander who
    participated in the efforts to suppress the rebellion, from Batur's
    memoirs, saying: "We received orders and got to Elazıg by train. From
    there on, we began the operations starting in Pertek [in Tunceli]. I
    served in Dersim for close to two months. I apologize to my readers,
    but I'll avoid recalling this part of my life." Babahan said, "This
    retired diplomat [Onur Oymen] is citing an era a former commander is
    ashamed to speak of as an example."

    Babahan also quoted former Foreign Minister and then Police Chief
    Ä°hsan Sabri Caglayangil, who confessed: "They strangled the people
    of Dersim like mice. They used gas." "This is the incident Oymen has
    no guilty conscience about," Babahan added. He also said he found it
    hard to grasp why Oymen did not defend teaching about this historical
    event, which he considers exemplary, in schools. "Tell them about
    the Armenian deportation, about Dersim. ... You should do this as
    part of CHP publications because those are an important part of your
    party's history."

    He said what was done to the people of Dersim at the time was the
    exact same thing that Saddam Hussein did in Dujail.

    Oymen also spoke after the controversial statement, saying he
    did not use any offensive expressions in his speech. "What I was
    highlighting was that Ataturk never adopted the policy of talking to
    armed terrorist organizations, unlike the Justice and Development Party
    [AK Party]." Ä°stanbul Today's Zaman

    Alevis should be accepted as they are, say workshop participants

    Participants of the fifth event in a series of seven workshops
    organized by the government to evaluate the problems of Turkey's
    Alevi community have unequivocally stated their conviction that the
    state should accept members of the Alevi creed as they are, without
    trying to change them into something they are not.

    The fifth workshop held on Wednesday focused on the representation
    of Alevis in the media. Yeni Å~^afak columnist Ali Bayramoglu, who
    participated in the workshop, said he believed the workshops could
    play a crucial role in recognizing Alevi demands. He said: "It is very
    important to see the Alevis and to develop awareness about them for
    the improvement of democracy in Turkey. I pointed out three issues
    in the workshop. These were the redundancy of forced categorizations
    to define Alevis, that it is a mistake to try to make Alevis into
    religious people and that the resolution should not be found under
    the Religious Affairs Directorate."

    A very clear message in that direction came from Etyen Mahcupyan,
    editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly and a regular columnist of
    Today's Zaman, who said: "The state should not see Alevism as the
    other party but the Alevis themselves. When we talk about laicite,
    we always say the problem is that the state is not laic. But none
    act in a secular way when we talk about finding a solution. Both
    Alevism and the Sunni faith will become individualistic. It will be
    seen that religion works that way everywhere in the world. It is not
    logical to insist that there should be a single Alevism. It is wrong
    to force obligatory religion classes on people. Even if there is a
    single Alevi in the world, you cannot stop future generations from
    having different preferences."

    Oral CalıÅ~_lar, a columnist with the Radikal daily, said: "Both
    state agencies and society should accept Alevis the way they define
    themselves. We should stop trying to fit Alevis into clothes that we
    sew among ourselves. It is wrong and dangerous to try to exploit the
    differences among Alevis. The demands vocalized in workshops should
    not remain on paper. These demands should be fulfilled and realized."

    In the fifth Alevi workshop held on Wednesday, the participants,
    including journalists from over 40 media organs, discussed Alevi
    representation in the media. Some of the well-known journalists
    who participated in the workshop were Bayramoglu, Mahcupyan,
    CalıÅ~_lar, Ali Kırca, Ahmet Hakan, Ali Bulac, Can Dundar, Emre
    Kongar, Erdal Å~^afak, Ergun Babahan, Ertugrul Ozkök, Fehmi Koru,
    Hakan Albayrak, Ä°smail Kucukkaya, Mehmet Ali Birand, Mehmet Barlas,
    Mustafa Karaalioglu, NeÅ~_e Duzel, Omer Laciner, Taha Akyol, Ugur
    Dundar and Yigit Bulut.

    Participants have also stated their hope that the workshops will
    contribute greatly to solving the problems of Alevis.
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