Hasan Cemal

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Hasan Cemal 2014

Hasan Cemal (* 1944 in Istanbul ) is a prominent Turkish journalist and writer .

Cemal's grandfather, Cemal Pascha , was a member of the Young Turkish Triumvirate . This triumvirate led the Ottoman Empire into the First World War on the side of the German Empire under Wilhelm II. The triumvirate was therefore also responsible for the genocide of the Armenians in 1915.

Career

Hasan Cemal successfully graduated from the Political Faculty of Ankara University in 1965 . In 1969 he began working as a journalist for Devrim magazine . He then worked for the magazines Yeni Ortam , Anka Ajansı and Günaydın until he switched to one of the oldest Turkish newspapers, Cumhuriyet , in 1973 . Between 1981 and 1982 he was editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet. He then wrote for Sabah between 1992 and 1998 and later wrote for Milliyet . In addition to his work as a journalist, he wrote books on controversial topics. His last book in 1915: Ermeni Soykırımı deals with the genocide of the Armenians.

family

Hasan Cemal comes from a family that reflected the multicultural character of the Ottoman Empire. His paternal grandparents were the Ottoman Pasha Cemal Bey and Serezli Hanım from Northern Greece . His maternal grandparents were Circassian Sait Bey and Seniha Hanım from Georgia . Both grandfathers had had military careers. Hasan Cemals father Ahmet Rüştü Bey (1900–1980) was the eldest son of the family. He lived in Germany for some time and returned to Turkey in the late 1920s. A diplomatic career in the new Turkish republic was denied to him because Cemal Pasha belonged to the old elite. Among other things, he worked as an interpreter for German in various Turkish companies. His wife later became Ayşe (Bozok). Hasan Cemal himself married twice. His daughter Elif (* 1972) comes from his first marriage with Necla (Aksoy) and his daughter Defne comes from his second marriage with Ayşa Hanım.

Genocide against the Armenians

In his book 1915: Ermeni Soykırımı (1915: The Armenian Genocide) , published in 2012, Hasan Cemal dealt with his own family history in relation to the genocide, of which his grandfather Cemal Pasha was one of the main culprits. Until the 1980s, Hasan Cemal followed the official interpretation of the Turkish government, which denied the genocide and refused to recognize the events of 1915 as “ genocide ”. In the 1990s, Cemal began to study the books of the Turkish historian Taner Akçam , which prompt him to question the official Turkish historiography, the Turkish way of dealing with this topic and, in this context, his own family history. During a lecture to representatives of the Armenian diaspora in Los Angeles in March 2011, Hasan Cemal spoke for the first time publicly of "genocide":

"I know and understand your pain, I am here to share the pain of genocide with you."

Cemals book 1915: Ermeni Soykırımı is dedicated to his Armenian journalist colleague and friend Hrant Dink , who was shot dead on the street in Istanbul in 2007. Dink's death marked a turning point for Hasan Cemal to deal intensively with this part of Turkish history. In 2008 Cemal visited the genocide memorial in Armenia and laid white carnations in front of the "eternal flame". He stated that fear of history reigns in Turkey. Like Taner Akcam before, Cemal was berated by Turkish nationalist circles for his attitude as a traitor to the fatherland .

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2014, he was named by Reporters Without Borders as one of the world's "one hundred heroes of freedom of information".

Platform 24

Cemal founded the “Platform 24 for Independent Journalism” in 2013 and has been leading it since then.

Works

  • Tank Sesiyle Uyanmak. Everest Yayınları, Istanbul 1986, ISBN 605-141-078-3 . (Wake up to tank noise)
  • Demokrasi Korkusu. Doğan Kitapçılık, Istanbul 1986, ISBN 975-6770-84-8 . (The fear of democracy)
  • Tarihi Yaşarken Yakalamak. Doğan Kitapçılık, Istanbul 1987, ISBN 975-6770-66-X .
  • Özal Hikayesi. Everest Yayınları, Istanbul 1989, ISBN 605-141-611-0 . (The story of [Turgut] Özal)
  • Kimse Kızmasın, Kendimi Yazdım. Doğan Kitapçılık, Istanbul 1999, ISBN 975-991-903-6 . (Nobody should scold, I wrote myself)
  • Kürtler. Doğan Kitapçılık, Istanbul 2004, ISBN 975-991-515-4 . (The Kurds)
  • Cumhuriyet'i Çok Sevmiştim. Everest Yayınları, Istanbul 2005, ISBN 605-141-664-1 . (I loved the republic very much)
  • Türkiye'nin Asker Sorunu. Doğan Kitapçılık, Istanbul 2010, ISBN 978-605-111-628-0 . (Turkey's problem with the soldiers)
  • Barışa Emanet Olun. Everest Yayınları, Istanbul 2011, ISBN 978-975-289-931-5 .
  • 1915: Ermeni Soykırımı. Everest Yayınları, Istanbul 2012, ISBN 978-605-141-513-0 . (1915: The Armenian Genocide)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The genocide of the Armenians and coming to terms with the past in Turkey. Humboldt University of Berlin . Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  2. a b c d Dead and Taboo: Against the Power of Lies: The Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal and his courageous book about the genocide of the Armenians. In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 16, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  3. a b Courageous book - KURSIV International: Hasan Cemal: "1915. Ermeni Soykirimi (The genocide of the Armenians). On: Deutschlandradio . November 12, 2012. Accessed on August 27, 2013.
  4. ^ Reporters Without Borders eV: Heroes of Freedom of the Press. Retrieved February 5, 2018 .
  5. ^ Platform 24