Racism-Turanism Procedure
In the Racism-Turanism Proceedings ( Turkish Irkçılık-Turancılık davası , also known as the Turkism-Turanism Proceedings ) from September 7, 1944 to March 29, 1945, 23 political personalities were charged with Turkism and Turanism . The procedure comprised 65 sessions and occupies an important place in the history of the Turkish ideologues. At the end of the trial, Zeki Velidi Togan , Alparslan Türkeş , Nihal Atsız , his brother Nejdet Sançar , Reha Oğuz Türkkan , Cihat Savaş Fer , Nurullah Barıman , Fethi Tevetoğlu , Cebbar Şenel and Cemal Oğuz Öcal were sentenced to various sentences.
prehistory
The journalist and Turkist Nihal Atsız believed the country was threatened by communism and a government that did nothing about it and even installed communist cadres in the administration. So he wrote two articles in his Orhun magazine. In the first article of March 1, 1944, Atsız quoted a speech by Prime Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu on August 5, 1942 in the Turkish Parliament:
“We are Turks and Turkists and we will always remain Turkists. For us, Turkicism is as much a matter of blood as it is of conscience and culture. We are not Turkists who are getting fewer or reducing [their numbers]. We are Turkists who multiply and want to grow. And we will always work in this direction. "
Despite this clear government stance, Atsız accused the government of taking no action against the threat. In his second article from April 1, 1944, Atsız named some communists and specifically accused the Ministry of Education as communist. Among the people mentioned were Giritli Ahmed Cevad Emre , Pertev Naili Boratav , Sabahattin Ali , Sadrettin Celal Antel and the Minister of Education Hasan Ali Yücel , whom he asked to resign. This resulted in several protests against this communist threat in Ankara and Istanbul .
At the suggestion of Education Minister Hasan Ali Yücel and the journalist Falih Rıfkı Atay, Sabahattin Ali filed a criminal complaint against Nihal Atsız. The trial against Atsız began on April 26, 1944 in Ankara and met with great interest among students, so that the courtroom was overcrowded. At the first session, Atsız accused Ali of treason and asked for a confession. The trial was adjourned to May 3, 1944.
Protests on May 3rd
On the second day of the meeting, protests by thousands for Atsız and against communism took place in Ankara. The protesters were prevented from entering the courtroom. They then gathered in Ulus Square, where they sang the national anthem and chanted anti-communist slogans. The demonstrators later wanted to visit Prime Minister Saracoğlu, but were prevented from doing so by the police. 165 people were arrested during the confrontation.
Alparslan Türkeş said of these incidents:
“How were you able to demonstrate against the National Leader [is İsmet İnönü ] and the Ministry of Education that is in his favor? To date, no demonstration has taken place without the permission of the National Leader. Democracy, equality, freedom, youth ... All of this was just empty talk in the government of Turkey in 1944. The applause of the people and the cheers of the youth had to remain İnönü's monopoly with no ifs or buts. "
The police cracked down on the demonstrators, whereupon Alparslan Türkeş, who was also among the demonstrators, wrote:
“The youth who took to the streets with the enthusiasm of May 3rd were mercilessly beaten. Their heads were smashed in, eyes burst. Some of the arms or ribs were broken. "
Atsız was arrested again on May 9, 1944 after the first trial was over. This time he was accused and charged with the other arrestees of the breach of the peace and the establishment of an organization to overthrow the government. His magazine Orhun was banned on May 6, 1944.
Racism and Turanism proceedings
The new procedure began in Istanbul on May 18, 1944 and was to last until March 31, 1947. There were a total of 65 sessions and 23 defendants. 17 months after the court began, 13 defendants were acquitted and the remaining ten were sentenced to prison terms.
In his defense speech, Atsız said that Turanism was essential to the survival of the Turkish people and gave some examples from history where the Turks lost important battles by betraying or ambushing their non-Turkish soldiers. He also says that the Ottoman Grand Vizier Damat Ferid Pascha , who signed the Treaty of Sèvres after the First World War , was of Armenian descent. In conclusion, he stated:
“I am a Turkic. Turkism is nationalism. Racism and Turanism are also part of it. With these two principles, the homeland will either rise or fall. Racism and tourism are not against the constitution. Nobody can be prosecuted for an insult that is not listed as a criminal offense in the Criminal Code. The state is also openly racist with its actions and with the annexation of Hatay it is also turanist. "
On August 26, 1946, the trial began again in the Military Court of Cassation over complaints from inmates about ill-treatment and torture in prison. About a year later on March 31, 1947, all of the defendants were found innocent and released. The court's final declaration stated that the demonstrations on May 3, 1944 were an expression of a national ideology against a non-national ideology. The non-national ideology meant communism. This change in government attitudes between 1944 and 1947 was related to the Cold War and the threat posed by the Soviet Union , which declared in March 1945 that it was questioning the Soviet-Turkish border agreements from the 1920s.
Since the trial, May 3 has been considered Turkist Day ( Turkish : Türkçülük Günü ) as a day of remembrance among the Turkic people .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biz Türk'üz, Türkçüyüz ve daima Türkçü kalacağız. Bizim için Türkçülük bir kan meselesi olduğu kadar bir vicdan ve kältür meselesidir. Biz azalan veya azaltan Türkçü değil, çoğalan ve çoğaltan Türkçüyüz. Ve her vakit bu istikamette çalışacağız. (Source: TBMM, Zabit Cerideleri, Devre 6, Cilt 27, pp. 24-25)
- ↑ Orhun , 27 Nisan 1951, Sayı: 30
- ↑ Orhun , May 4, 1951, Sayı: 31
- ↑ Original: Bunlar Milli Şef ve onun gözde Milli Eğitim Bakanına nasıl gösteri yapabiliyorlardı? O zamana kadar Milli Şef'in müsaade etmediği hiçbir gösteri yapılamazdı. Demokrasi, Eşitlik, Hürriyet, Gençlik… Bütün bunlar Türkiye'nin 1944 iktidarında hep parad palavradır. Halkın alkışları, gençlikten çıkacak "yaşa" naraları kayıtsız şartsız İnönü'nün tekelinde kalmalıdır. Source: Alpaslan Türkeş, 1944 Milliyetçilik Olayı, İstanbul, 1992, p. 39
- ↑ Original: 3 Mayıs günü heyecanla sokağa fırlayan gençler kıyasıya dövüldüler. Kafaları yarıldı, gözleri patladı. Bazılarının kolları, kaburgaları kırıldı. Source: Hulusi Turgut, Türkeş'in Anıları-Şahinlerin Dansı, İstanbul, 1995, p. 40
- ↑ ... "counteracting national interests" and "setting up secret organizations to overthrow the government ... for the realization of their racist and Turanist aims", Arzu Öztürkmen, p. 195
- ↑ Original: Türkçüyüm. Türkçülük milliyetçiliktir. Irkçılık ve Turancılık da bunun şümûlüne dahildir. Memleket ya bu iki temple üzerinde yükselecek veya yıkılacaktır. Irkçılık ve Turancılık Anayasaya aykırı değildir. Ceza Kanununda sarahatle suç olduğu yazılmayan bir hooks dolayı kimse suçlandırılamaz. Devlet de icraatıyla açıkça ırkçı, Hatay'ı ilhak etmekle de Turancıdır. Source: [1]
- ↑ Arzu Öztürkmen, p. 196
swell
- Irkçılık - Turancılık , Türk İnklâp Enstitüsü, 1944.
- Mustafa Müftüoğlu: Çankaya'da Kâbus - 3 Mayıs 1944 , Fatih Gençlik Vakfı, 1974.
- Alparslan Türkeş: 1944 Milliyetçilik Olayı , Türk Federasyonu, Frankfurt.
- Rehabilitation Oğuz Türkkan: Tabutluktan Gurbete , 3.baskı, 1988.
- İlhan Egemen Darendelioğlu: Türk Milliyetçiliği Tarihinde Büyük Kavga , Burak Yayınevi, 1994.
- Arzu Öztürkmen: Folklore on Trial: Pertev Naili Boratav and the Denationalization of Turkish Folklore , Journal of Folklore Research, Vol. 42, No. 2 (May - Aug., 2005)
