Freedom and Unity Party

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The Freedom and Unity Party , also Party for Freedom and Understanding or Party of Freedom and Unity , ( Ottoman حريت و ائتلاف فرقه سی İA Ḥürrīyet ve İʾtilāf Fırḳası ) was a liberal party in the Ottoman Empire founded on November 21, 1911 . It was also known as the Entente Libérale (Liberal Union).

The party was founded during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911/1912 when the reputation of the ruling Committee for Unity and Progress (KEF for short) was tarnished. Prominent people like Damat Ferid Pascha , Kâmil Pascha , Prince Sabahaddin , Seyyit Abdülkadir and Rıza Nur belonged to the party. In the 1912 elections, the Freedom and Unity Party was the main competitor to the Young Turk Committee for Unity and Progress. The February 1912 elections became the stage for the violence and corruption directed by the KEF. In the so-called thrashing election, the KEF candidates won almost everywhere. Thereupon the opposition declared the results null and void and within the army a group formed with the Halaskar Zabitan that was for the liberals and wanted to remove the KEF from the government. According to a memorandum from the Halaskar Zabitan of July 16, the KEF government under Mehmed Said Pasha had to resign.

The bipartisan cabinet of Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasha wanted to put an end to the rule of the KEF. Because of this, the February 1912 election was canceled and Parliament dissolved. But the liberals could not seize the opportunity because the Ottoman Empire was still at war with Italy. To make matters worse, the Balkan War broke out in October 1912 . The Ottoman army suffered great losses and defeat was imminent in a short time. This changed the political mood again in favor of the KEF. The committee, which had adopted a violent nationalist policy, accused the government of defeat on the one hand and won important officers on its side on the other. On January 23, 1913, an armed group led by Enver Pasha , who was a major at the time, attacked a government meeting in the Bāb-ı ʿĀlī , shot the Minister of War Nazım Pasha and forced the Grand Vizier to resign with a gun to his head. The KEF came back to power through a military coup. This meant the de facto end of the Liberals. Leading members fled abroad or were harassed by the government. The party later tried to reorganize, but the murder of Grand Vizier Mahmud Şevket Pasha in June 1913 was used by the government to persecute any opposition, execute or banish some of the leaders.

After the Mudros armistice , the party was re-established and existed until May 1920.

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