An Appropriate Commemoration Worth of a Great Leader and ... · 2 Voice of Atatürk Summer’06 4731 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington DC 20016 Phone 202 362 7173 Fax 202 363 4075

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ATATÜRK SOCIETY OF AMERICA | SUMMER 2006Voice of

"An AppropriateCommemoration Worth of a

Great Leader and Reformer"

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ATATÜRK SOCIETY OF AMERICA | SUMMER 2006

2 Voice of Atatürk � Summer’06

4731 Massachusetts Ave. NWWashington DC 20016

Phone 202 362 7173 Fax 202 363 4075 E-mail [email protected]

www.ataturksociety.org

Executive Board

PresidentTimur Edib

Vice PresidentFiliz Odabas-Geldiay

TreasurerMirat YavalarSecretaryIlknur Boray

Board of Trustees Hudai Yavalar, Chairman, Founding President

Adm. William J.Crowe Jr.Prof. Ali DogramaciProf. Talat HalmanProf. Suna KiliHon. Greg LaughlinDr. Andrew MangoHon. Richard PerleOrhan Tarhan, Past President

Prof. Behram Kursunoglu, Former Trustee

Recipients of Atatürk AwardsPeace & Democracy AwardSenator Robert C. ByrdRichard HolbrookeAdm. William J. Crowe Jr.

Secularism & Democracy AwardThe Turkish General StaffOrhan TarhanScience is Guidance AwardProf. Behram Kursunoglu

Universality of Civilization & PeaceAwardProf. Bernard LewisDr. Andrew Mango

Education & Modernization AwardProf. Turkan Saylan

Magazine Design bySitki Kazanci

The AtatürkSociety of America

MembersBulent AtalayNilufer CulhaFerhan Kilical

ASA MISSION STATEMENT

The Atatürk Society of America (ASA) is an independent non-profit organization foundedin Washington DC in 1995 with the objective of promoting Atatürk’s political legacy.

ASA understands Atatürk’s political philosophy to be:� Sovereignty belongs to the people. People alone administer people. Public sovereignty

cannot be shared with any other authority, including a religious authority.� Rational education ensures absoluteness of public sovereignty rationality in politics.� Science leads to progress. Doctrines, including religious ideologies, hinder progress.� The contemporary civilization is the common heritage of mankind. All nations must

participate in it through progress. The universality of civilization means peace at homeand peace in the world.

Towards this objective the ASA organizes scholarly lectures, provides research fellowships,develops a resource and reference center, and makes representations regarding the impor-tance of Atatürk’s political philosophy for international prosperity and peace.

Voice of

Published Quarterly by the Atatürk Society of America, 4731Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington DC 20016. ISSN 1544-0966POSTMASTER: The Atatürk Society of America, 4731 MassachusettsAve. NW Washington DC 20016Application to Mail at Periodical Postage Rates is Pending atWashington DC and addititonal mailing offices. Articles related toAtatürk or his priciples are welcome and should be accompanied by thename, address, and resume of the author (not to be published). Articlesare accepted only in an electronic format. Copyright 2006 by ASA.Printed in the U.S.A.

Summer’06 � Voice of Atatürk 3

Hudai YavalarChairman, Founding President

Blanco Villalta, Vice Consul, and son of Argentina’s Consul-General in Istanbul,became the first biographer of Atatürk in the world. He spent five intense yearsin Turkey, from 1930-1935, where he met the founder of the country on several

occasions. After years of observing the man and his actions, he wrote “Atatürkbelongs not only to Turkey but to humanity.”

Even 125 years after Atatürk’s birth, the civilized and democratic world is still talk-ing about the leader, his philosophy, and the applications of his ideas to the MiddleEast and elsewhere.

We witness leaders of countries around the world discussing Atatürk and his lead-ership with inspired optimism that secularism and democracy is still applicable todaymore than ever. This means that Atatürk years ago foresaw the challenges we wouldbe facing today, and prepared his country and its people for these developments. Healso provided an example for newly established countries around the world strugglingto establish independent states.

How is it that a person who died in 1938 clearly saw the dangers and trappings ofmixing religion with government, and established a secular democracy, which wasviewed as an impossible challenge since the crumbled Ottoman Empire was a theoc-racy for six hundred years? He anchored the newly independent country to theWest, and changed the lives of millions of people. As Speaker Gingrich said on May19, the man was a genius.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Lloyd George was quoted assaying “The centuries rarely produce a genius. Look at this bad luck of ours that agreat genius of our era was granted to the Turkish nation” after the allied forces wereresolutely defeated in Gallipoli.

John Kennedy, as President noted Atatürk’s leadership qualities with “The name ofAtatürk reminds people of the historical successes of one of the great individuals ofthis century, the leadership that gave the inspiration to the Turkish nation, farsighted-ness in the understanding of the modern world and courage and power as a militaryleader. It is without a doubt that another example can’t be shown indicating greatersuccesses than the birh of the Turkish Republic and ever since then Atatürk’s andTurkey’s broad and deep reforms undertaken as well as the confidence of a nation initself.”

If we look at the Middle East we can easily see the root of existing problems whichAtatürk brilliantly foresaw. Secularism is the key ingredient for countries with majori-ty Muslim populations to provide democracy, human rights, and western values totheir people.

Atatürk’s value is appreciated more with each passing day. We established ASA in1995 to better promote Atatürk’s political legacy and contribute to freedom andpeace. The May 19, 2006 event held in the Cannon Caucus room featuring SpeakerNewt Gingrich who spoke more like a historian than a politician, made importantcontributions towards this effort and toward furthering U.S.-Turkish understanding.

From the Chairman

continued on page 4

“Atatürk belongs not only to Turkey but to humanity”*


The event was broadcast in Turkey on at least two tele-vision stations, CNN Turk and TRT. In addition, it wascovered extensively in newspapers.

I want to thank Speaker Gingrich for accepting theinvitation to speak and Chairman Bob Livingston formaking it happen. Ambassador Ferguson of NewZealand took time out of his busy day to address theaudience. Greg and Linda Laughlin donated a flagflown over the capitol, and ATA-DC President PelinAylangan and ASA President Timur Edib made excel-lent presentations.

Congressmen Ed Whitfield and Robert Wexler invit-ed their colleagues to attend the event, saying it isessential to learn the historic lessons of Atatürk’s suc-cessful transformation of Turkey and apply the lessonslearned to our efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and aroundthe world.

Congressman Tom Lantos submitted a statement forthe first time ever in the Congressional Record to com-memorate Atatürk’s birthday, He noted that he toldPakistani President Musharraf that if he followedAtatürk’s vision, he would put Pakistan on the road toprogress.

Sincere and heartfelt letters were sent for the occa-sion by President Necdet Sezer, President GeorgeBush, and President Pervez Musharraf, as well as PrimeMinister Helen Clark of New Zealand..

We must not forget those that volunteer for ASA, wewould not be able to accomplish our goals withoutthem.

I am proud that ASA is a bridge of understandingbetween the U.S. and Turkey. In the legacy of Atatürk,who believed that all can be overcome with hard workand dedication, we look forward to working together inthe future to accomplish those goals.

The uniqueness of U.S. democracy also shinedthrough on that day, where a historic and glamorousroom in the U.S. Congress was made available to com-memorate a leader who lived and died so far away somany years ago. While we are proud of our Turkishheritage, as founder and Chairman of ASA I am grate-ful to the American people for creating and nurturingan environment where we were welcomed in the U.S.Congress.

Sincerely,Hudai Yavalar

* Quote from Blanco Villalta

continued from page 3

Coming to the Assemly for the opening of the Turkish Grand NationalAssembly ( November 1, 1936 )

Atatürk and Sabiha Gokcen ( November 17, 1937 )


Timur EdibPresident

As I conclude my first year as the President of the Atatürk Society, I can only say thatI am enlightened and thankful for your support of our Society and of Atatürk’sideals. During this last year, I have witnessed a sincere affection, admiration, andrespect for the life, work, and vision of Atatürk that words can not begin to

describe. This year I have witnessed world leaders, statesman, academics, and our youth,born over one hundred years after Atatürk, perform amazing acts of selfless giving andsupport for our mission of furthering Atatürk’s principles. Without a doubt, the highlight of this past year was our commemoration in the Caucus

Room of the United States House of Representatives of the 125th anniversary of MustafaKemal Atatürk’s birth. There are no words to describe how impressed I was as anAmerican to see that the only Superpower in the world, the protector of Democracy, waswilling to have the People’s House graciously offered for our Society to honor Atatürk’svision of world peace. First, our keynote speaker, Mr. Newt Gingrich, the former Speakerof the United States House of Representatives, gave us all a history lesson about the geniusof Atatürk’s strategic thinking and vision. Then, we listened as Ambassador Ferguson ofNew Zealand reminded us of the compassion and humility that Atatürk bestowed onhumanity. In short, I can only say that thanks to our distinguished speakers and our hon-ored guests, our event can only be described as an extraordinary tribute for an extraordi-nary man, leader, statesman, and visionary. I sincerely thank Congressman Ed Whitfieldand Congressman Robert Wexler and their staff for allowing us the use of the CannonCaucus Room, and I would like to give a personal thank you to Mr. Robert Livingston, whowas the keystone in making our May 19 event happen. While there were many people thatgave of themselves without having to be asked, and I thank each and every one of you, Iwould like to give special recognition to Mr. Cengiz Ozcan, who with a smile on his facetook care of all of the forgotten chores and details to make our event run smoothly. I wouldalso like to thank Congressman Tom Lantos for introducing a resolution to the UnitedStates Congress in honor of Atatürk.

I am very excited by what we have done so far this year, and I am working with myBoard to plan future events. Many of you have asked why is the Society not doing moreprograms and activities. The simple answer is that it costs money to have activities, andfor us to continue furthering our mission we need your help. Next year will be the 80thAnniversary of Atatürk presenting his vision in “Nutuk,” and while we have many pro-grams we would like to organize to honor this event, we are limited by our operating budg-et. Without your membership dues and donations, we will have neither the moral supportnor the finances to continue teaching the world about Atatürk and his vision for worldpeace as we would hope. Our membership dues amounts to less than one dollar a week.We do not actively seek your donations because many of you give willingly and selflesslywithout our asking and I thank you.

In closing, I again thank each and everyone of you for your sincere support. I am trulythankful for you allowing me to be the President of this Society, and I hope to be able tocontinue to work with you to spread Atatürk’s vision and principles for world peace. Pleaseenjoy your magazine, and then share it with as many people as you can, and together wecan make a difference in making our world a better place.

President’s Comments

Dear Friends


August 30, 1922: Further Steps Towards Statehood

August 30 is celebrated nationwide inTurkey to commemorate the victoryof a group of Turkish soldiers num-

bering 60,000 led by General KemalAtatürk over the 350,000 Greek soldiers ledby General Hatzianestis.

The decisive victory in the Battle ofDumlupinar near Afyonkarahisar in Turkeywas the last fight in the Greco-Turkish War(1919-1922), which is part of the TurkishWar of Independence.

On August 25 the Turkish forces werepreparing to attack. They reached the sum-mit of Koca Tepe in the middle of the night.At 5:30 the next morning, they began theirassault by artillery which maintained itsintensity for three hours.

The Greek army scrambled in confusion,hurriedly taking up arms, but no match forthe Turkish infantry that poured throughthe ruins of what was once their fortifica-

tions. Although Greeks were betterequipped with machine guns, field guns,and transport, their positions north ofAfyon near Kutahya were also broken, sothey could easily be surrounded.

Mustafa Kemal had split the alliesthrough skillful diplomatic moves, so thatthe French and Italians supported Turkey,and diplomatically isolated the pro-GreekBritish.

Greeks were astounded when the frontline, which was supposed to be impreg-nable, fell that same day, while Afyon fellwithin 24 hours.

The troops marched forward, enteringAfyon, while Greek army was forced toretreat towards Asilhanlar, a mountainousregion.

On August 30, the six Greek divisionswhich had been encircled tried to escapethrough a narrow valley called Kizilca, but

instead found themselvestrapped, suffering roughly50,000 casualties.

The armies then split,with the larger groupmarching towards Izmir,and the rest againstEskisehir.

Kemal Atatürk enteredUsak on September 2, wherethe surrendered GreekCommander Tricupis wasbrought to him. Atatürkstood up, shook his hand,and invited the General tosit down, later offering themcigarettes and coffee, whilediscussing the machinationsof the conflict. He told hisopponent: “War is a gameof chance. You have doneeverything possible for a sol-dier and man of honor. Fateis to blame. Do not be dis-couraged.” He also askedthe Greek Commander if

there was anything he could do for him, towhich he responded that his news shouldbe sent to his wife in Istanbul. (1)

From Usak he went to Izmir where helearned that the allied Consuls were willingto negotiate with him. The city was surren-dered, and the Greco-Turkish war was over.

These events laid the foundation for theLausanne Treaty to establish the TurkishRepublic on October 29, 1923. This was fol-lowed by a series of political, legal, cultural,social and economic reforms undertakenbetween 1922 and 1938 and transformedthe lives of millions of people. The seem-ingly impossible undertakings whichchanged the alphabet, promoted humanrights and elevated women, EuropeanizedTurkish law and society, drew praise andadmiration from world leaders and servedas an example for other countries.

Turkey into the only democratic freemarket oriented country with a majorityMuslim population in the Middle East.

Although Atatürk was known for his vic-tories in battle, on March 16, 1923, he stat-ed “I am not in favor of dragging the nationinto war. War should be the last resort.When taking the country into war, I shouldnot have a troubled conscious. We canenter war against those who tell us ‘we willkill’ and answer ‘we will not surrender ordie.’ In addition, when people are not facedwith danger, war is a crime.”

On the first anniversary of Victory Dayin 1924, addressing the crowd in Ankara,Atatürk reminded the nation ” Thereshould be no doubt that the new Turkishstate’s and young Turkish Republic’s foun-dation was strengthened here. Its existencewas guaranteed here. This memorial willforcefully remind those who want to covetthe Turkish nation that they will face thesame reaction as that on August 30th; fire,bayonet, strength, and determination”

(1) From ATATÜRK by Jorge Blanco VIllalta,Turkish History Foundation Press, Ankara, 1991.

Atatürk’s famous commandgiven to the Turkish Army onSeptember 1, 1922 after the

Dumlupinar Victory.

To the Turkish Grand National Assembly Armies! At the great Afyonkarahisar-Dumlupinar field battle you destroyed inan unbelievably short time the actual fighting units of an oppressiveand conceited army. You are proving that you are worthy of the self-sacrifices of our great and noble nation. The great Turkish Nation thatis our protector is right in being certain for its future. I am followingand observing closely your proficiencies and self-sacrifices on the bat-tlefields. I will carry out constantly and without ceasing, my duty to bea vehicle of our Nation’s appreciation concerning you.

I ordered the front command headquarters to make suggestions to thecommander-in-chief headquarters.

I request of all my friends, that they advance by taking into accountthat they will enter other field battles in Anatolia and I request thatthey continue to demonstrate, as though they are racing with eachother, their mental powers, heroism and patriotism.

The Armies! Your first target is theMediterranean. Forward! President of the Turkish Grand National AssemblyCommander-in-Chief Mustafa KemalSeptember 1, 1922



ASA News


ASA Celebrated Atatürk’s 125th Birthday

On May 19, 2006 AtatürkSociety of America (ASA)celebrated Atatürk’s 125th

birthday with great fanfare andjoy. The event was held in thehistoric and majestic HouseCaucus Room with a largeaudience consisting of diplo-mats, Members of Congress,congressional staff, U.S. gov-ernment representatives, ASAmembers, and others.

The audience participated inone minute of silence to honorthe victims of the May 18attack on the Turkish StateAdministrative court. Theevent was inaugurated by ASAPresident Timur Edib whoemphasized the importance ofthe celebration. Mr. Edib readletters of congratulations sent

by Turkish President NecdetSezer, U.S. President GeorgeBush, and Pakistani PresidentPervez Musharraf. He thenintroduced former Chairmanof the AppropriationsCommittee, Bob Livingston.

Chairman Livingston recalledthe days of building aRepublican coalition with thefeatured speaker, NewtGingrich, and highlightedSpeaker Gingrich’s contribu-tions to the U.S. political sys-

tem and recognized hisaccomplishments.

Speaker Gingrich’s sincereand heartfelt remarks regardingAtatürk’s legacy received astanding ovation from thecrowd which was mesmerizedby his insight and observations.His inspirational presentationwas delivered from not only apolitician’s point of view, butalso through the eyes of aneducator and student of history.

Listeners remained breath-less as he used the power ofimagination to take the audi-ence back to 1881, and theworld into which Atatürk wasborn. He then carried themthrough the changes the worldunderwent, the First WorldWar, the tragedies, and the suc-

The event was held in the historic and majestic House Caucus Room with a large audience consisting of diplomats, Members of Congress, congressional staff, U.S. government representatives, ASA members, and others.

Speaker Gingrich, ASA President Timur Edib and ASA Founder and Chairman HudaiYavalar jointly cut the cake especially in honor of Atatürk's Birthday.

Speaker Newt Gingrich

Hudai Yavalar presented Speaker Newt Gingrich with an award in commemora-tion of his contributions to publicizing Atatürk's legacy.


cesses of the time. At the end,everyone shared SpeakerGingrich’s view that Atatürkwas indeed a remarkable leaderthat sought modernity, secular-ism and democracy for Turkeynot for personal gain, but forthe benefit of the new country’scitizens.

Linda Laughlin, wife of for-mer Congressman and ASAAdvisory Board Member GregLaughlin, presented a U.S. flagwhich had been flown over theCapitol in commemoration ofAtatürk’s birthday.

ASA Chairman and FounderHudai Yavalar presentedSpeaker Newt Gingrich with anaward in commemoration ofhis contributions to publicizingAtatürk’s legacy.

Pelin Aylangan, AmericanTurkish Association of DCPresident provided an exampleof the opportunities providedby Atatürk for the country’syouth.

New Zealand Ambassador tothe United States Roy Fergusonchronicled the Gallipoli cam-paign of 1915, recallingAtatürk’s leadership, and read a

letter sent by Prime MinisterHelen Clark. He ended hisremarks with the words etchedon the placards in Gallipoli,“Those heroes that shed theirblood and lost theirlives…there is no differencebetween the Johnnies and theMehmets in us where they lieside by side in this country ofours…Having lost their lives

on this land they have becomeour sons as well.”

His remarks were so mov-ing, that some of the membersof the audience were unable tocontrol their tears.

Bill Ali, President of TurkishAmerican Veterans Associationrecalled the experiences ofTurkish Americans in theKorean War. Turgut Burakreis,

ASA Board Member camefrom Turkey and thanked ASAfor the certificate presented tohim.

Certificates were presentedto long standing ASA membersfor their outstanding supportand contributions to the organ-ization and its mission.

Speaker Gingrich, along withASA President Timur Edib andASA Founder and ChairmanHudai Yavalar jointly cut thecake especially prepared for theevent in honor of Atatürk’sbirthday.

The day culminated with areception providing an oppor-tunity for members and speak-ers to interact and analyze theevent. A slide show chroniclingAtatürk’s life in pictures wasshown during this time.

The event, which was cov-ered by television stations aswell as print media in Turkey,contributing to the debateregarding secularism, democra-cy, and civil society.

Let us all work together tobuild a better and more hopefulfuture in the footsteps ofAtatürk’s vision.

ATA-DC President Pelin Aylangan Linda Laughlin, wife of former Congressman and ASA Advisory Board MemberGreg Laughlin, presented a U.S. flag which had been flown over the Capitol incommemoration of Atatürk's Birthday.

Bob Livingston


PRESENTATION BY SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH“When Bob Livingston told me I had this opportunity to come and to speak about theextraordinary life of Atatürk and his meaning, not just for Turkey, but for the world, Iwas thrilled to be allowed to do so.”

Iwant to take you back, andyou can use the phrase125th anniversary, but I

want to take you back for just aminute or two since I did teachhistory, to 1881, because Ithink sometimes when youdeal with these great figureswho transform life for mil-lions, it’s easy to forget howreally big the change was, andfor them how lonely it musthave been.

The world into whichMustafa Kemal was born was atotally different world. It was adifferent world in technology.It was a world before electriclights, a world before tele-phones. I have two grandchil-dren who are four and six, so Idon’t try to explain to themthat there was pre-televisionand pre-cell phone, pre-black-berry, because that would beunthinkable, and they couldn’timagine it. But you and Iknow here is a young mangrowing up in a world totallydifferent from the world hewill leave at the end of his life.And it was a world which hadan empire which had beenaround a very long time andthat occupied a tremendousamount of territory. And therewas no natural reason as ayoung man for him to thinkabout the notion that theOttoman Empire would disap-pear. There was no naturalreason for him to contemplatethe collapse of European civi-lization, the disappearance of

Czarist Russia, the removal ofKaiser Wilhelm. And yet earlyin his life, he would begin tohave these experiences.

Remember that he is 33years old when the First WorldWar begins, and it is not at allobvious, everybody expectedin August of 1914 that itwould be a three month war.It would be over quickly. Andyet it drove on for four years.A hundred million peopledied. It was capped by a worldwide epidemic of flu which wecalled in the U.S. the Spanishflu. It was a worldwideinfluenza which killed morepeople than had died in thefour years of war. And at thatpoint, as one of the most suc-cessful generals, the general Iwould argue, and I think mosthistorians would agree, wasthe decisive figure in theGallipoli campaign. That itwas his leadership, and I’mlooking forward to the NewZealand Ambassador’s com-ments because in a very realsense, it was Atatürk’s leader-ship, his toughness, his direct-ness, his ingenuity, his energy,and drive which enabled theOttomans to stop the British,Australians, New Zealand andFrench, allied landing on thepeninsula.

And yet in the very processof successfully defending hiscountry, he was studying themodernity of his opponents,he was learning what was nec-essary for success in the mod-

ern world. And when afterthe war the Ottoman Empirewas disappearing, he wasfaced with an enormous deci-sion, and I think, again I wantyou to place yourself in whatis still a very young man atthat point, someone who at 37or 38 years of age is suddenlysaying, all of the leadershiparound me is collapsing. Allof the old rules are dying.And there are really twochoices. There was a choice tocreate a classic military des-potism and to preside oversomething which I argue yousaw happening in Iraq duringthat period, something yousaw happen in Egypt, some-thing you saw happen in manyplaces where strong menseized power with a self-per-petuation of their own agenda,something which has plaguedmuch of Latin America for thelast century, where we get verystrong people, but they don’tapply their strength for thegood of the country. Theyapply their strength to theadvantage of the elite.

And he looked around andhe had two I think keyinsights which are extraordi-nary. Many years ago when Ifirst became Speaker I think Ishocked the Turkish ambassa-dor because I was such a bigfan of Atatürk. I remember atthe time I was wonderfullyreceived, and when one of myassociates Dr. Stephen Kinzerwas able to visit Turkey shortly

after I gave the speech aboutthe importance of Atatürk, hehas never been better receivedanywhere in the world. Peoplewere just so nice to him. But Iwas fascinated as a young col-lege teacher and before that asa graduate student becauseAtatürk has two extraordinaryinsights that he then allows toguide his heart and his head.And very often people haveinsight and then they forgetthem because they are toofrightening or too hard, orthey mean well, they are wordsup here but they are notactions down here. And theinsights are actually contradic-tory. Bear with me, and thoseof you who are Turkish correctme if I get my understandingof history wrong, because theyseem to be in the oppositedirection.

The first is he is going tomodernize the people, not justmodernize the government,not just modernize the elite,but he’s going to think throughand then implement, carryingan entire great people into themodern world in terms of edu-cation, the entire effort to turnthe whole country into a class-room so that literally in a mat-ter of a year people were writ-ing differently, moving into themodern world. The elimina-tion of the fez.

When you start interferingwith the very things peoplewear, you are in the heart ofchallenging their entire life.


And yet he is carrying an argu-ment that this is the cost ofmodernity. If we’re going to bea modern people, if we’regoing to be strong enough toprotect ourselves, and I rankhim with Deng Chou Ping’s(phonetic sp.) great speechacross southern China whenhe said, he didn’t say commu-nism was over. He couldn’thave said that. He said at onepoint, “I don’t care if it is ablack cat or a white cat as longas the cat catches the mouse.”

Now what he was saying tothe Communist cadres was iffree enterprise can build a fac-tory, that’s good. If commu-nism can build a factory, that’sgood. And there’s actually abig bridge in southern Chinawhere they have these hugestatues of black and white catswhen you drive across thebridge because all of a suddenDeng Chou Ping was liberat-ing the Chinese from thestraitjacket of Maoism saying,if we are going to live in thefuture, we have to be preparedfor change.

The other great momentwhen this also happens iswhen the Meijing restorationoccurs in Japan and a smallgroup of generals, the peopleat that time were aboutAtatürk’s age, in their early30’s, would then guide Japanfor 40 years. And from 1868to 1925 was one of the greatmoments of modernization.And in my mind, you can see adirect parallel. These are peo-ple who are saying, for us tosurvive, our country has tobecome strong. For our coun-try to become strong, it has tobecome modern, and for thecountry to become modern,the people have to live in themodern world, not just thebureaucrats, not just the gener-

als, the people. So on one level, he is this

remarkable example of bring-ing together and carrying anentire nation into the future ata moment when it was notobvious. Remember, Turkeyas it had become at the end ofthe Ottoman Empire, had lostall of its external provinces, ithad lost many of its sources ofwealth, it had been through along and debilitating war.

There was no reason to believethat out of this you could sud-denly create a great newnation.

And secondly, and this isoften misunderstood by peo-ple who are in the rarifiedworld of academics or politics.To carry Turkey to the West,he moved the capitol East. Itwas very important that he

recentered the government inAnkara to recenter the heartof the Turkish highlands sothat Turkish people wouldlook in at themselves and notbe constantly looking at theMediterranean and constantlylooking towards Europe,because he understood that hehad to unite these greatstreams, the populist andnational sentiment of beingTurkish with the meaning of

being Turkish to becomemodern, democratic, andadvanced. And that is genius.

But what made it truly his-toric wasn’t that he under-stood it. It was that he thenspent the entire rest of his lifeliving that out; that he bothimposed his will when he hadto, and he patiently grew tocapacity of the Turkish people

towards self government,towards productivity, andtowards modernity. It’s veryseldom you get both.Sometimes you have peoplewho, in the effort to grow, peo-ple are too weak, and, there-fore, the whole thing fallsapart. And you could argue ina sense that was the great crisisthe Shah faced in Iran late inhis career, that he didn’t knowhow to balance these two, howto both modernize and nation-alize simultaneously.

Now what was the result?The result was first of allsomething he could not havepredicted in 1918, the rise of acoherent modern nation ofpeople who were proud ofboth their heritage and of theirfuture, of a people who gov-erned themselves, who haveelections, who fight overpower in precisely the way thatwe in this country believe Godendowed all of us with theright.

And to set a little bit of deli-cate territory, let me say thatwhen the Turkish Parliamentcould not give permission forthe American Fourth Divisionto go through Turkey, I wasn’tshocked because we had notwon the argument in thehearts of the Turkish people,and the newly elected govern-ment of Turkey in a democra-cy had 93 percent disapproval.Like I say to people, in themodern world it’s not goodenough to have our ambassa-dor talk to their ambassadorand our secretary of state talkto their foreign minister. If wecan’t win the argument in thehearts of the people in a freesociety, you cannot expect thegovernment of a free society tocarry it through.

Just as in Germany,Schroeder won the election in

Speaker Newt Gingrich


part because the German peo-ple said “no”, we don’t want togo through that. And so youhave to have some respect forthe very traits that Atatürk wascreating, a modern country,but a country that’s a democra-cy where people do matter,and where people have towrestle with their own lives,they have to make many deci-sions about the kind of futurethey want, the kind of life theywant, the kind of opportunitythey want for their childrenand their grandchildren.

And so I think when wegather today for this kind ofevent, you’re celebrating morethan a man, although whetherone argues Washington orLincoln, it’s not a bad league tobe in. This is certainly I thinka man who ranks with thegreat modern nation buildersof the last 100 years. A maneminently worth of study foranyone who would like tosolve the problems of subSaharan Africa, anyone whowould like to solve the prob-lems of democracy in the Arabworld, anyone who would liketo try to help the Chinese

make the transition to free-dom, because there’s some-thing magic about howAtatürk reached out, personi-fied the future of Turkey, andgot the Turkish people, con-vinced the Turkish people toinvest their hopes in hiscourage and to invest theirfears in his leadership andtherefore to move in a 25 yearperiod into a better world.

One of the byproducts ofthat was that when the ColdWar began, Turkey resolutelysided with the West and was avery key player in containingthe Soviet empire for 44 years.It’s easy to forget how hard thiswas, how long a process thiswas, how much pressure therewas sometimes to back down.My father fought in theKorean War, and always feltpermanent affection for theTurkish brigade, which was soheroic, and so competent andproved its capabilities so beau-tifully, standing side by side aspart of the Alliance.

Today, despite occasionalarguments, the fact is thatthere is so much more thatbinds 2.758"er that can push

us apart. And the truth is if inthe long run we are to win thewar on terrorism, and if in thelong run we are to help all theMiddle East in becomingdemocracies, the road to agreat deal of that will bethrough Turkey and will beside by side with the Turkishpeople.

And so I felt when Bobcalled and offered me thischance that this was a greatopportunity and time for theUnited States. I don’t getmany invitations to go to thelocal Rotary Club and explainthe central role of Atatürk. It’ssomething I’ve studied, I’vethought about, I’ve tried attimes to learn from. I’ve triedto see in what ways we canlearn to do things better andmore effectively by studyinghow he did it. And I com-mend each and every one ofyou for taking the time out ofyour life today for two rea-sons. One because it is goodto celebrate who we are andwhere we came from. Itstrengthens, those flags matter,people are bound together byemotions that draw upon the

memories of history and drawupon the facts.

But there’s a second reason.There are some young peoplehere today who may learn todream of a bigger future forthemselves, and they learn thatthey, too, can play a role insolving problems, and helpingthe people, and having a betterfuture. And in that sense Ithink that Atatürk is a modelthat every young person in theworld should study fully asmuch as we would encouragethem to study Washington andLincoln, and fully as much aswe would encourage them tostudy the other leaders whospent their lives trying to bringpeople into the modern world,to help them achieve suffrageand give them a chance to livein freedom and safety.

So I look forward for manyyears to come to work with youand to work with the people sothat together Americans andTurks can create a better futureworking towards the kinds ofthings we want our childrenand our grandchildren to expe-rience.

Thank you very, very much.

CONGRATULATIONS TO TURKEY'S NEW MILITARY LEADERS

ASA congratulates the three of the Turkish military who began their tenure on August 30, 2006.

Chairman of JCS General Yaşar Büyükanıt

Chief of the Land Forces General İlker Başbuğ

Chief of the Gendarme Forces General Işık Koşaner

Just as you protected and savedthe country in its most critical anddifficult moments from tyranny,disaster and misfortune and fromenemy occupation, I have no doubtsthat in the prosperous period oftoday's Republic, with military tech-niques equipped with all the modernweapons and implements, that youwill carry out your duties with thesame loyalty.

--Kemal Atatürk29 October 1938

“

“


AMBASSADOR FERGUSON'S SPEECH

Mr. Edib, President ofAtatürk Society, Mr.Yavalar, Chairman of

Atatürk Society, the HonorableGingrich, the HonorableLivingston, Ladies andGentlemen: It is an honor forme to be here today at thiscommemoration of the 125thanniversary of the birth of agreat statesman. I guess someof you at least are wonderingwhy the Ambassador of NewZealand is here. I hope thatthe message that I am about toread you from our PrimeMinister, the Honorable HelenClark, will make it clear whythe great founder of modernTurkey has an important placein the history of my country.The Prime Minister's statementis as follows:“May I convey greetings to themembers of the AtatürkSociety of America on the cele-bration of the 125th anniver-sary of the birth of KemalAtatürk.

Kemal Atatürk will alwayshave a special place in historyas that remarkable soldier wholed the defence of his countryon the Gallipoli Peninsula andwho went on to found themodern Turkish republic. It isnot only in Turkey that thisgreat statesman is remembered.For New Zealanders theGallipoli campaign in 1915,when the Australian and NewZealand Army Codrps – or theANZACS - landed on the nar-

row beach at what is nowcalled ANZAC Cove, evokesmemories of the enormouscourage against a valiant foeled by a brave and brilliantyoung patriot named MustafaKemal.

For New Zealand and otherallied forces, Gallipoli was amilitary defeat. But it was atime of great personal sacrificeand bravery on both sides.Over the eight gruelingmonths of the Gallipoli cam-paign, the opposing forcescame to know each other - andthere evolved respect for thetenacity of the other side, anappreciation of human quali-ties of the other.

Out of that tragic conflict, anew sense of nationhood was

born; for New Zealanders, forAustralians, and for Turkey.Between the peoples of NewZealand this ancient land ofTurkey there grew a profoundrespect that has flourished intoour warm friendship today.

That spirit of reconciliationwith friendship was inspiredby Atatürk’s famous words:

“Those heroes that shedtheir blood and lost theirlives…you are lying in the soilof a friendly country.Therefore rest in peace. Thereis no difference between theJohnnies and the Mehmets tous where they lie side by sidein this country of ours… Youthe mothers who sent theirsons from far away countries,wipe away your tears. Your

sons are now living in ourbosom and are in peace.Having lost their lives in thisland, they have become oursons as well.”

These words are engravedon the memorial to theANZAC soldiers that standstoday on the GallipoliPeninsula. They also appearon the Atatürk Memorial at theentrance to the harbor in ourcapital city, Wellington. Theyrecognize that true greatness asa leader comes not only fromcourage on the battlefield butalso from the ability to forgepeace and reconciliation afterthe conflict.Rt Hon Helen ClarkPrime Minister Thank you very much.

“I hope that the message that I am about to read you from our Prime Minister, theHonorable Helen Clark, will make it clear why the great founder of modern Turkey hasan important place in the history of my country.” The Prime Minister's statement is asfollows.

New Zealand Ambassador Roy Ferguson


May 19, 2006

Ahmet Necdet Sezer

President

Mr. Hüdai Yavalar

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Of the Atatürk Society of America

History knows few leaders who through their struggles and victories changed the fate of their nation, influ-

enced the course of history and played an important role in the shaping of the world.

These leaders are immortal; through their ideals, system of thought, way of life and legacy they live on

in the heart of their nation and continue to illuminate the way for future generations.

Atatürk is an enduring leader who by successfully concluding the War of Liberation and establishing the

Republic because a source of hope and strength for other nations. He is a leader who has left his mark on

history, established himself in the consciousness of humanity and whose achievements are better under-

stood with every passing day.

As the architect of a more illuminated Turkey, the great man that is Atatürk has gained the respect of all

nations through his knowledge, caring tolerance and his peace loving and democratic personality. His vic-

tories, thoughts and revolutions have had a deep influence on the world.

As President Bush pointed out during his visit to Turkey, “It was with the spirit of a reformer that

Atatürk established Turkey which is a shining example of a nation founded on equal rights as well as a sec-

ular democracy”. Turkey will continue to travel on the path that Atatürk has illuminated with his universal

principles and revolutions and it will remain an honorable member of the modern world with its secular

and democratic character.

Our great leader, whose memory we proudly cherish with unabated love and respect on his 125th birth-

day attributed great importance to peace and later established peaceful relations with all states against

which be previously had to conduct war. His principle that foresees peace at home and peace in the world

reflects his humanitarian thoughts and also circumscribes the world he dreamed of.

According to Atatürk peace is “the best way leading to international welfare and happiness”. With this,

Atatürk pointed out to humanity the importance of peace in making the world a more hospitable place.

We are pleased that a celebration is held on the occasion of 125th birthday of Atatürk on the territory of

our friends and ally, the United States. We believe this meaningful event of the Atatürk Society of America

to be an indicator of not only the universality of Atatürk but also of the strong

relations between the two states.

I remember our great liberator with affection and respect and wish to convey

my best wishes to you and all those participating in the celebrations.

(Signed)





Mr. Speaker, I rise today, May

19, to commemorate the 125th

anniversary of the birth of the

founder of modern Turkey,

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a post-

World War I revolutionary leader

who demonstrated that Islam and

modernity are fully compatible.

His example provides instruction

and hope for our own era.

Ataturk died at the young age of

57 in 1938. Yet, in a short period of

time starting with the end of World

War I, Ataturk was able to build a

nation from the ashes of the

Ottoman Empire, establish secular

rule, and lay the groundwork for

democratic development. His

vision for his overwhelmingly

Muslim nation was dominated by

two concepts: secularism and

progress. In his words, “In an age

when inventions and the wonders

of science are bringing change after

change in the conditions of life,

nations cannot maintain their exis-

tence by age-old mentalities and

tradition-worshipping.”

Mr. Speaker, Ataturk’s reforms

covered virtually area of public

life, political, cultural, legal, educa-

tional, and economic all geared

toward bringing the new Turkish

nation to the level of what Ataturk

called “contemporary civilization.”

Some of the changes were monu-

mental, such as abolishing the

caliphate, recognizing equal rights

for men and women, discarding the

Arabic alphabet in favor of Latin

letters, and adopting secular law.

Others were seemingly minor, such

as reforming traditional styles of

dress and mandating surnames.

His leadership style was epito-

mized by the alphabet reform. A

language commission he appointed

endorsed the reform in 1928 and

urged that it be phased in over fif-

teen years. Ataturk had a different

time-frame in mind. He phased it in

over six months, punctuating his

decision with trips around the

country in which he personally

gave public instruction in the new

alphabet. This reform has wrought

a fundamental change in Turkey’s

outlook, as millions of Turks,

schooled in the Latin alphabet,

have turned westward for their sec-

ond languages and the learning to

which those languages are the key.

As a champion of women’s

rights, Mr. Speaker, Ataturk

encouraged women to become doc-

tors, lawyers, engineers, scientist,

writers and politicians. His credo in

this regard was stated as a simple

equation in a speech in 1926: “ If a

society of men and women is con-

tent to apply progress and educa-

tion to one-half of itself, such a

society is weakened by half. “ It is

unfortunate that, to this very day,

too many nations in the Middle

East cannot grasp that easy math.

When I met Pakistani President

Musharraf four years ago, I gave

him a copy of Andrew Mango’s

authoritative biography of Ataturk.

“ Follow Ataturk’s vision, “ I urged

him,” and you will put Pakistan on

the path to progress.”

Mr. Speaker, I am convinced

that this is the right advice for the

leaders of every Muslim nation.

With forward-looking vision, lead-

ership, and determination in the

mold of Ataturk, the entire region

could expect a future of secularism,

tolerance, democracy, and material

progress.



A LOVE STORY LENT A HELPINGHAND BY KEMAL ATATÜRK

In Installment I, appearing in Voice of Atatürk (Spring 2006), the author wrote about his recollections of his visit just a year earlier toMustafa Kemal’s birth-house in Selanik, and the street on which his grandfather, Ismail Hakki, and Mustafa Kemal played as chil-dren (these were times before Atatürk introduced a law requiring family’s to generate last names). He also wrote about cruising up thestoried Dardanelles, and the Battle of Gallipoli — where in 1915 the two men, both 34, fought for eight months against the ANZACS.The experience of that horrific battle would come to define the new nation at its conception, and make kindred spirits of Turkey,Australia and New Zealand.

While Atatürk would go onto become his nation’s savior and the first President of the republic that he helped found, Ismail Hakkiwould die in 1916 fighting against the Arabs near Diyarbakir, in southeastern Turkey. The author’s father, the young Mustafa Kemal,would attend the military college, Kuleli, and at graduation, come face-to-face with his legendary namesake, but now the recipient ofthe honorific title, Atatürk, “Father Turk.” In this, the second installment, he will meet the school girl who is to become his wife, theauthor’s mother. And a second meeting with Atatürk will take place, with auspicious consequences for the young couple.

Reflections

INSTALLMENT II.

By Bülent Atalay, Ph.D.

THE KÖKDEMIR FAMILYMy maternal grandfather, BahattinKökdemir, born in Sinop, on the Black Sea,was a young physician who had receivedhis medical degree in Istanbul. Shortly aftergraduation in 1915, he married my grand-mother, Refika. They had three children —the first child, a son named, ErtugrulPertev, was born in 1916; their secondchild, my mother, Nigar Esma Atalay,would be born three years later; the thirdchild, Hüsrev, would come almost a gener-ation later, in 1938. (My grandfather had,however, been married once before, butthat marriage had ended in divorce. Fromthat marriage he had also a son and adaughter.) The family posed for a portraitin Istanbul (ca 1921), my uncle approxi-mately five, my mother just two. My grand-father is seen wearing the customary fez,my grandmother a scarf over her head.

Then in 1926 when my grandfather wasawarded a Rockefeller fellowship to under-take postgraduate work in medicine atHarvard, he would journey to the United

States with his family, and spend the nextthree years on the East Coast of America.After a year at Harvard, he was given anextension of his fellowship and allowed totransfer to Johns Hopkins Medical Center,

ostensibly to receive additional training atAmerica’s other great medical institution.Accordingly, the family moved toBaltimore for the next two years. In 1929,with my mother and uncle — ten and thir-teen years old, respectively — my grand-parents returned to Turkey and settled inAnkara. The children had learned to speakflawless English, a skill that would servethem well the rest of their lives. Shortlyafter they returned to Turkey with somenewly acquired western social habits —they found that Turkey was amidst some ofAtatürk’s social reforms, launched duringtheir absence. Western style clothing wasin, the traditional Middle Eastern garb —fez, turban, veil — was out; the Ottoman-Arabic script, written from right-to-left,was being replaced by the Roman alphabet,written from left-to-right — reforms thatmy grandparents welcomed, reforms thatwould make their own adjustment inreturning to Turkey so very much easier.

In Ankara my grandfather was tobecome a successful physician, an internist,as well as a specialist in public hygiene. Asa physician he was well known to adminis-ter to rich and poor alike, but especially thepoor! As a child I remember occasionswhen patients would pay him with a pot ofyogurt, a live chicken from their chicken

Family photo of the Kökdemir Family around 1921, afew years before they traveled to the United States.


coop, or not at all. And as a public hygien-ist with a pair of books that he had pub-lished on the subject and in the late 30s hewould serve as a member of the parlia-ment, a mebbus, after being nominated byDr. Refik Saydam, the celebrated Ministerof Public Health. But disillusioned by poli-tics and politicians after just one term inoffice, he returned to his medical practice.

When my parents first met, my motherwas only seventeen years old, my father 25.She was a student in a local school, and myfather, a young officer on

temporary assignment, teaching militaryscience at a nearby high school. It was notlong before they became enamored witheach other, but maintained a proper dis-tance. Much, much later my father wouldconfess to me, rather sheepishly, that theyhad once met secretly, having arranged tomeet in front of the movie theater in thedowntown square, Ulus Meydani. Therethey would see a film together, come out ofthe theater, still maintaining the mostproper decorum, and then bid good-bye.

But they would not forget each other.One day a few months later, my father,

uncommonly bashful, made an unusuallybrazen move. He telephoned my grandfa-ther, the physician, and arranged for a pri-vate visit – not seeking any professionalservice. He was there to ask for my moth-er’s hand in marriage. He explained to mygrandfather that his own father had died inWWI, that he himself was a military officerwho received a modest, but dependablesalary, but that each month he faithfullygave a portion of his salary to his widowedmother.

My grandfather was impressed by thepersonal visit — untraditional in that nogo-betweens were involved. He had seenduring his years in America that intermedi-aries were not involved in asking for a girl’shand. But about giving his blessings to themarriage, he admitted his reticence, “Idon’t want my only daughter to be marriedto a soldier who might get killed one ofthese days, and leave her a widow. I musttake this under advisement. I will get backto you.” Then after a pause, he continued,“Please, call us in a month.” He even gave adate for my father to call again.

In discussing the dilemma with mygrandmother, there was agreement generalagreement, he was very polite, and he wasdeeply devoted to his mother. And he washandsome — “Eli yüzü düzgün.” But therewas that seemingly insurmountable barrier,he was a soldier! And surrounded by hos-

tile neighbors, the country seemed contin-ually on the brink of war. There was alsoanother factor to take into account: a suc-cessful and well-heeled engineer had alsoasked for my mother’s hand, and a man notin constant jeopardy of being inducted intothe military. The conundrum was not triv-ial. My mother expressed privately to mygrandmother that it was the young officerthat she distinctly preferred.

After my grandparents discussed theissue between themselves, they decidedthat my grandfather should consult hisown mother, then living in Sinop.Accordingly, he wrote a letter to my greatgrandparents, expressing his own uncer-tainty. The answer, however, would notcome for several weeks.

A SECOND MEETING WITHATATÜRKA ball was held in 1937 in Ankara at theHalk Evi with members of my father’s mili-tary company assigned to serve as guardsand ushers. Among the guests would beMaresal Fevzi Çakmak, five-star generaland Secretary of Defense; Ismet Inönü,Vice-President, perennial “Second Man” ofTurkey, and futurepresident; and theincomparable Kemal Atatürk himself. Myfather was standing near an entrance, whenAtatürk entered the grand ballroom of theHalk Evi followed by his retinue comprisedof Ismet Inönü, Fevzi Çakmak, and otherleaders. When he saw my father, Atatürkgestured to him, appearing to have recog-nized him. After a short pause, he actuallystarted walking over to my father, whoimmediately ran over to greet him. Atatürkasked, “Weren’t you introduced to me atcommencement ceremony at the Kuleli afew years ago?” My father answered nerv-ously that he was. “Then young man, comeand sit with us at our table.”

As my father’s friends, the other youngofficers, all looked on in puzzled silence,my father was shown his seat — betweenAtatürk and Inönü. His anxiety must havebeen palpable. Atatürk then asked him,“Do you take raki?” (Raki is the familiaranise-flavored liquor in the EasternMediterranean, variously known as “ouzo”to the Greeks and “arak” to the Arabs. Theclear liquid turns translucent, milky white,

After the three years in the United States, mygrandparents were visibly Westernized. Much totheir delight, they would find that Turkey had alsoembarked on a course of westernization, echoingthe vision of its founder.

A photograph taken of my mother in Ankara in1937, shortly before her engagement to my father.


when water is added. It is believed thatover two thousand years ago, the powerfulrelative of liquor was already known in thearea. According to tradition, Aristotle, thelegendary philosopher and teacher ofAlexander the Great, offered his pupil thedrink telling him that it was “lion’s milk.”)My father had never tasted raki before, buthe nodded that he did, “After all, it wasAtatürk asking him.” After he gulped downone glass, a kadeh, he was immediatelyoffered another, and another. And he wasin no position to refuse.

Then as dinner was being served,Atatürk asked, “Are you married? Do youhave any children?” My father, his tonguenow altogether liberated by the raki, men-tioned being smitten by a beautiful youngwoman, but that her father, an eminentphysician, was reluctant to let his daughtermarry a military man. He also mentionedthat he was still hopeful, after all, the fatherhad not said, “No!” The normally unflap-pable Atatürk became noticeably quiet;then he gestured to his yaver, his aide-de-camp, to approach. He whispered some-thing in the man’s ear, and the man depart-ed. All very baffling!

But just then the musicians started play-ing Harman Dali, a folk dance of Ankara.The dance is evocative of the Jewish folkdance, the Hava Nagila, where the partici-

pants form a chain, but in this instance thedance is performed by a group of men only.Atatürk stood up, and as if on cue, theother members of the high brass all rose.Then Atatürk turned to my father, “Kemalbey, won’t you join us?” By then, my fatherwas entirely overcome with emotion, hon-ored to be sitting next to Atatürk at thehigh table, imbibing raki with his hero, andnow participating in a folk dance with himand the other commanders. His friends, alllined up along the periphery of the room,watched in utter disbelief! Atatürk led thedance, holding a handkerchief in his raisedright hand, and my father’s right hand withhis left. My father, in turn, held ontoInönü’s right hand with his own left hand,and so on. There appeared to be a hierar-chy in the chain, from Atatürk down to thelower commanders, except for my father,who was distinctly out of place, so junior inage and rank to all the rest.

After the Harman dali the men returnedto the table and began to sip their coffee.Afterwards, some of the men reflexivelyturned their cups over, if or when a for-tuneteller appeared and read their fortunesfrom the ground coffee deposited on theinner wall of the cup.

The foregoing represented my father’snarration during the drive down theGallipoli Peninsula in 1967, of an incidentthat took place thirty years earlier, in 1937.In hearing this, I remember asking rhetori-cally, “Of course, you told him then thatyou were the son of his old friend, IsmailHakki, didn’t you?” And, again I heard myfather’s familiar refrain, “No, no, I couldnot bring myself to tell him. I didn’t wanteven the appearance of favoritism.”“Favoritism,” I said in frustration, “…itwould have made him so happy to hearthat you were his childhood friend’s son.”

It has now been approximately forty-years since that memorable drive toGallipoli (Gelibolu) when my father firstnarrated the foregoing, and certainly itconformed with my mother’s recollectionsof subsequent year. But a sequel may exist,unhappily one that I remember hearingjust once — again on that trip along thehistoric peninsula. In this version, rightafter the men drink up their coffee,Atatürk’s aide-de-camp reappears and whis-

pers something in his boss’ ear. Atatürkacknowledges the message, but takes a fewmore sips before standing up. Again every-one at the table springs up in deference.But Atatürk turns to my father, andannounces, “‘Buyrun,’ Come, Kemal Bey,we are going to visit the doctor!”

Atatürk, followed by my father and theaide-de-camp walk outside the Halk Evi,where the Presidential Düsenberg sits,along with two lines of motorcycles pre-pared to lead the way. With my father sit-ting next to Atatürk in the car, the motor-cade negotiates the five or six miles toBahcelievler, in the suburbs of Ankara. Theroar of the motorcycles brings out everyonein the neighborhood. When my grandfa-ther steps out of his house, he cannotbelieve his eyes. It is my father, accompa-nied by his “friend.” With this kind of tacitrecommendation my grandfather is notabout to refuse his daughter. I hope thathis version is not apocryphal — a productof my own fertile imagination, but it is notoutside the realm of possibility. Rather it isjust that neither my grandparents nor myparents are alive now and I cannot inquirefurther.

Although, the last incident is one that Iwas unable to confirm, the following‘sequel-to-the-sequel’ is entirely verifiable— repeated to me over the years by mymother and grandmother. Just a day beforethe incident at the Halk Evi, my grandfa-ther had received the much-anticipated let-ter from his father (it might be remem-bered that my great-grandmother had beenasked to counsel on the choice of suitors —“the engineer or the officer?”). This was inaccordance with a traditional, perhaps cen-turies old practice, calling for a designatedperson, most likely the matriarch of thefamily, to go to bed, and “sleep on it,” isti-hare’ye yatmak. The next morning, it washoped, she would wake up with the answer.In my great grandfather’s letter to mygrandfather there was the report: “Yourmother went to bed. And when she wokeup she announced that she had seen in herdreams ‘… a man standing at the foot ofthe bed… he was wearing a uniform!’”This clinched my grandparents’ decision.Atatürk had expressed his pleasure, mygreat grandparents had expressed theirs.

Atatürk, accompanied by Inönü and in the rearright, Maresal Çakmak.


My grandparents were sanguine with theirdecision. My mother was happy. And myfather was ecstatic! The engineer is nevermentioned in family annals again.

The next time my father contacted mygrandfather would be to plan the date ofthe wedding. It was to be in late 1938.

As it turned out, just before the weddingcould take place, Atatürk passed away inIstanbul on November 10, 1938. He diedin bed in Dolmabahçe Palace on theBosporus. When one tours theDolmabahçe now, the guides will point tothe alarm clock by his bedside, poeticallystopped at 9:05am — as if by divine inter-vention — at the moment of his death.Although there is an apocryphal elementhere, there is little doubt that the collectivehearts of all the Turks skipped a beat onthat day. November 10th has since beenrecognized as the day of mourning for the‘Father of the Turks,’ the ‘Father-Turk.’ Myparents postponed their wedding for twomonths, finally marrying on January 8th,1939.

In civil weddings performed in Turkeythe protocol calls for the two most seniorindividuals in the room — sometimescelebrities, often officials or elders — toserve as the witnesses, one witness for thebride, the other for the groom. I wouldlike to think that had Atatürk not diedwhen he did, had my father approachedhim and told him about his own father,Ismail Hakki, then Atatürk perhaps wouldpersonally have been one of those witness-es at the wedding.

MY FAMILY POST-ATATÜRKBefore he died Atatürk had foreseen thewar that was going to erupt in Europe, andhad impressed on Ismet Inönü that Turkeywas not to participate, but “to sit this oneout!” In 1939 the war broke out, and thecountries of Europe started being pulled inone by one. Both the Allies and the AxisPowers began to impress on Turkey to jointheir respective sides. Churchill remindedTurkey that it had been on the wrong sideof the fray during the WWI, and he madeit amply clear that this time around it hadbetter stand on the Allied side; and Hitler,for the opposition, argued the converse,“…better to side with the eventual win-

ners.” Inönü, Atatürk’s always loyal right-hand man, however, was determined to fol-low Atatürk’s directive, and Turkey wouldremain neutral.

Between 1939 and 1942 my father wasassigned a post in the Office of MilitaryIntelligence at the Defense Department.And among his tasks was to serve as andomestic currier and convey importantmessages received by the Minister ofDefense to President Inönü, occupying thePembe Kösk (literally the “Pink Palace,”Turkey’s White House).

By far the most memorable message thathe personally remembered carrying toPresident Inönü from the Chairman of theJoint Chiefs came from the Americans.Roosevelt urged Turkey to remain neutralin the war. The message read, “After thewar ends, Turkey is needed as a bulwarkagainst the drive for expansion anticipatedfrom Stalin and his Communist cohorts.We will transfer to your armed forces someof the most advanced weapons we aresending to the Allied Forces.” Turkey didremain neutral. After the war, the MarshallPlan was launched, as was the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),inviting Turkey as a charter member. Bothof these developments bolstered Turkey’swestern leaning, entirely compatible with

Atatürk’s vision.When I was two or three years old and

living with my parents in Ankara, myfather would often go off on courier dutyto embassies in Europe. He would take thetrain, frequently the Orient Express, to var-ious capitals – Axis, Allied, occupied andneutral alike. Because of security concerns,he was ordered by his superiors in Ankarato always rent an entire compartment, andto plug the keyholes with candle wax lestenemy agents gassed him to get to thepapers that he was transmitting back andforth between Ankara and its embassies.Now, as I peruse his passports from thewar years, I can see that his visits includedthe Turkish Embassies in Lisbon, Paris,London, Bucharest, Berlin, and Moscow.Note: the page for Berlin features aSwastika.

Less than a year after the termination ofhostilities, in January of 1946 my fatherwas appointed assistant military attaché toLondon. Just five years old, I rememberwell sailing from Istanbul, by way of Izmirto Cairo; then after several weeks in Cairo,flying to London, with a stopover in Malta.The photograph of my father, wearing hisuniform, was taken when he assumed thepost in London in 1946 (Figure II.6). Mysister Gülseren was born in London in1946, but after just seven months, would bereturned by my visiting grandparents to

A page from my father’s passport, dated August 2,1942, indicates his visit to Berlin. The pages ofthe passport are virtually exhausted with visas toother countries, some of them written entirely byhand.

Major Kemal Atalay, Assistant Military Attaché toLondon, 1946.


Turkey, where they would take care of her.Two years later my father was promoted toLt. Colonel and assigned to a new post, asassistant military attaché to Paris.

After Paris, a pair of domestic assign-ments would follow — two years in Sivas,then an assignment in Ankara, as an assis-tant to the Chairman of the Joint Chief ’s ofStaff, Org. Nuri Yamut. These assignmentswould be followed in 1953, with anotherforeign assignment — this time to the“sweetest of all plums” among diplomaticposts. He was assigned as the militaryattaché to Washington, DC.

About the time that my father’s assign-ment to Washington expired in 1955, I wasawarded the Warm Memorial Scholarship,and enrolled at St. Andrew’s School, inMiddletown, Delaware. Founded in 1930by the duPont Family, this is an academi-cally rigorous and unusually beautifulschool featured in the 1989 Robin Williamsmovie, Dead Poets’ Society. (Indeed, I wasserving as a member of the Board of

Trustees of the school when the film wasmade.)

During the three years I spent at St.Andrew’s, and subsequently the 9-10 yearsI spent doing undergraduate and graduatework in theoretical physics at a variety ofinstitutions in the United States andEngland, my parents were living in Turkey.My father had assignments to Malatya(Figure II.7), then Gelibolu (Gallipoli), fol-lowed by Izmir, where he was promoted tothe rank of Brigadier General in 1960.

During the decade of the 60s, my fatherhad assignments to the NATOHeadquarters in Izmir. Then he was basedin Ankara, where he served asCommandant of the Jandarma,Undersecretary of Defense, then in Istanbulas the Commander of the First Army. In1967, when he was receiving his final pro-motion, I had the singular honor of pin-ning a fourth star on each of his epaulets.I had missed all his other promotionsthrough the ranks, and this was my verylast chance.

REVISITING ISMAIL HAKKIMy father frequently spoke of his memoryof his own father’s visit to Biga in 1916, amemory he always described as being a“dreamlike vision” — formed when he wasjust five years old. He would retire in 1970,but not before another transformative inci-dent took place. In 1968, fifty-two yearsafter his father had died, my father, now asCommandant of the Jandarma, was on avisit to the southeastern city of Diyarbaki,ostensibly to inspect troops. One day as hedrove through the small village of Silvan hewas approached by a village elder. Theman, after introducing himself, claimed tomy father’s astonishment that he had per-sonally known his father, Ismail Hakki.And he said that he had followed myfather’s progress from a distance, throughhis assignments and promotions throughthe ranks. He added that he knew whereIsmail Hakki was buried. My father,stunned by this revelation, accompaniedthe old man to a nearby graveyard, wherehe actually saw for the first time his father’sweathered headstone, the site of his grave.The headstone was inscribed in oldTurkish, right-to-left, “Major Ismail Hakki,

son of Yusuf Ziya, Chief Justice ofThessalonica.” The marker also identifiedIsmail Hakki’s brigade as being based inOhri, where my father was born in 1910.Ohri was then part of the Ottoman Empireand is now a town in Macedonia. Myfather had a local stonemason build aslightly more elaborate memorial, and theinscription in old Turkish replaced by onein modern Turkish (using letters of theRoman Alphabet).

I had always known that my maternalgreat grandfather (whom I still rememberfrom my childhood and subsequently froma myriad family photographs) had been thechief justice in the City of Sinop on theBlack Sea. But from the inscription onIsmail Hakki’s gravestone there was nowthe revelation of my paternal great grandfa-ther’s name, and that he also had been achief justice.

EPILOGUE — DISTINGUISHED LIVESI have long envied the Irish who organizewakes for their dead, celebrating good livesand not just mourning for them. To besure, we may miss immensely those depart-ed. Leonardo da Vinci’s words, “A life well-lived is long,” resonates with meaning forboth of my parents, who left remarkablememories, lived such wonderful lives. Mymother died in 1993 just barely into herseventies — somewhat young for ourMy mother in Malatya around 1957.

Seen in the photographed taken in 1968 is IsmailHakki’s grave in Silvan, with the inscription ren-dered into modern Turkish characters.


times. She had lived an astounding life —recognized by everyone who met her forher wisdom and selflessness, her wit andhumor, the elegance and astonishing beau-ty. When General Matthew Ridgway (1895-1993) and his wife, “Penny,” came to visitTurkey in 1952, my mother was assigned asMrs. Ridgway’s escort during her visit.Indeed, this turned out to be a time ofimmense ambivalence for my mother – shewas with the Ridgways in Ankara, whenher beloved father passed away in Istanbulin September 1952. A year or two later,when my father was serving as the militaryattaché to Washington, the Ridgways cameto visit us in our home — Ridgeway at thepinnacle of the armed forces of the UnitedStates, my father a colonel in the TurkishArmy, and indeed they all maintained acorrespondence for years afterwards.Fifteen years later when Charles de Gaulecame to Ankara on a visit, my mother wasassigned the seat next to the great man atthe official state dinner. She exuded charis-ma, and she spoke French as well asEnglish.

By any measure, my father had a longand distinguished career. Having graduat-ed from Kuleli in 1930, he retired inIstanbul in 1970. My sister and I gave a sur-prise 50th wedding anniversary party forour parents on January 8, 1989, and someof their closest and oldest friends were inattendance. We showed slides (some ofwhich have been integrated into this story).My mother died in 1993 after a long anddebilitating illness. At the time, I tried get-ting in touch with her friend, PennyRidgway, only to find out that GeneralRidgway had also passed away that year, atage ninety-eight years.

My father lived a longer life than mymother — having been born nine yearsearlier than she was and surviving nineyears past her death — died on February14, 2003. He lived to see five of his eightgreat grandchildren, a grandson and a greatgrandson named after him. His definingvirtues had been his kindness and wisdom,his unassailable honesty and his legendarymodesty; and above all his graciousness.He would never open a door, withoutinsisting on someone else going through itahead of him. He would never see guests to

the door, and not wait outside until theguests had entered their cars and departed.He never spoke ill of anyone else. Finally, Icannot remember a day that passed whenhe did not mention Atatürk with deep ven-eration!

How appropriate it was that such a goodand honest man, so full of love, would dieon St. Valentine’s Day. Late in the summerof 1993, as I completed the manuscript fora book that I had been writing for severalyears, I felt the painful ambivalence in pen-ning the dedication, of noting the terminalyear of his life.

“To the memory of an extraordinary man — soldier, statesman, father — GeneralKemal Atalay (1910-2003).” �_________________________

The author, Bülent Atalay, is a professor ofphysics and an artist. The article about hisfamily’s connection to Atatürk is excerptedfrom a book that he is writing as a tributeto his late father, Orgeneral Kemal Atalay.He is the author of the highly acclaimedbook Math and the Mona Lisa, publishedby Smithsonian Books (2004), currently inits eighth printing, and translated intonumerous foreign languages. The Turkishedition, Matematik ve Mona Lisa, was pub-lished by Albatros Books in Istanbul inJanuary 2006, and has already had threeprintings. Bulent Atalay’s website appearsat http://www.bulentatalay.com

Bülent Atalay

MILESTONESJULY..........................July 12,1932

Opening Day of Turkish LanguageInstitution ..........................July 24, 1923

Signing Lozan Reconciliation Agreement

AUGUST..........................August 09,1928

Atatürk introducing Latin letters to Nationin Istanbul..........................August 30, 1922

Independence Day..........................August 05, 1921

Giving Atatürk; agnomen of Commander-in-chief by Turkish Parliament..........................August 23, 1920 - September 23, 1920Sakarya War..........................August 13, 1920

Sevr Agreement (Agreement of Captivitybefore Independence War)..........................August 06, 1915

Victory of 1st Anafartalar War

SEPTEMBER..........................September 01,1929Abolishing lessons in Arabic and Persianfrom high schools..........................September 02, 1925

Shutting down Islamic tombs and dervishlodges..........................September 09, 1922

Victory of Izmir


July 4, 2006

Voice of Atatürk, Editor, Atatürk Society of America4731 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 2006

Dear Editor,

Today, on the 230th Anniversary of American Independence in1776, I would like to take this opportunity to address to the mem-bers and friends of the Atatürk Society of America (ASA) to thankthem for founding and supporting it since its first establishment in1995. During the last eleven years, especially after September 11,2001, with the tireless and courageous efforts and with the gener-ous contributions of ASA members and friends, “Atatürk Societyof America” became a great institution in America like many oth-ers which are organized by forward looking immigrants with greatvisions who built and made America into what it is today. NowAtatürk’s words shall last forever in America along with those ofWashington, Jefferson, Lincoln and other great Americans and cit-izens of the world.

Thanks to ASA, during these critical times of ‘Clash ofCivilizations’ between Western nations and Islamic peoples,

Turkish-Americans and other millions of Americans, as well as themajority of 73 million of Turkish people in Turkey; through TV,radio and newspapers heard and remembered again on May 19,2006 the immortal ‘words’ of Kemal Atatürk who in 1923 createdthe only secular and democratic nation of Moslem peoples in his-tory.

American General MacArthur, a great strategist and militaryhero of the Second World War during 1938-1945 and the victorand reformist of Imperial Japan; and general Gazi MustafaKemal (Atatürk) victor of Gallipoli of the First World War dur-ing 1914-1918 and the gifted war leader, reformist and founderof the Republic of Turkey; conceived a liking for each otherfrom the moment they met when MacArthur visited Turkey in1932. During a long conversation, conducted in the warmatmosphere of sincerity, the two men, in touching on world sub-jects, expressed some remarkable thoughts regarding thefuture, which were full of both hopes and fears. Many yearshave gone by since then, crowded with historical events and thesufferings and misfortunes of war, the end of which cannot beseen even today. Two great soldiers, who in their political prog-nosis foretold the future with astonishing clarity.

To MacArthur’s question about the situation in Europe, Atatürkanswered as follows:

“The Versailles Treaty has not removed a single one of the rea-sons which caused the First World War. It has deepened thechasm between the main rivals of yesterday. The victors, steepedin hostile feelings, dictated to the vanquished conditions of peace,without taking into account either ethnical, geopolitical, or eco-nomic peculiarities of the defeated countries. If you Americangentlemen had not withdrawn from European affairs and insist-ed on the execution of Wilson’s program, we could today have alasting peace.

If Europe’s statesmen, casting aside national egoism and differ-ences, do not tackle with all sincerity and determination the solu-tion of fundamental political problem in the interests of all, I amafraid that it will be impossible to avert a new catastrophe.Strictly speaking, the European problem has long passed the stagewhen it was caused by differences between England, France andGermany. Today, there has appeared in the East, a new power,which threatens civilization, and even the whole mankind. Thisterrible power, besides mobilizing all its moral and materialresources for world revolution, employs new political methods asyet unknown to Europeans and Americans and is skilled in mak-ing very good use of the slightest mistakes and oversights of itsenemies. In the war, which will break in Europe, the first victorwill be Bolshevik Russia. The Bolsheviks, who are exploiting thefeelings of the awakening peoples of the East and are conniving intheir national passions and feelings, and who know how to excitetheir hatred, have become a power, which threatens not onlyEurope, but also Asia.”

When Asia came to be discussed, MacArthur said the following:“I agree with you completely. I think that the war which breaks

out in Europe, will flare up immediately in Asia, America will, ofcourse, not remain indifferent.”

To the Editor

A Letter From a Members


Franklin D. Roosevelt, only 4-time elected President of theUnited States of America during 1933-1945, said the followingabout Atatürk:

“The American people have watched with sympathetic interestthe energetic efforts of His Excellency Gazi Mustafa Kemal,President of the Turkish Republic, to accomplish reforms of a sig-nificant and varied nature to the end that his country might takeits rightful place among the stable, peaceful and forward-lookingnations of the world. The outstanding measure of success whichhe has achieved is a cause for sincere congratulations.”

President Roosevelt who became the Second World War leaderof the Allied Nations against Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany andFascist Italy after Pearl Harbor Attack by Japanese Navy at Hawaiion December 7, 1941; in his personal letter dated February 28,1937 and addressed to “Honorable John Van A. Mac Murray,American Embassy, Istanbul, Turkey” wrote the following:

“Dear John: I have not had a chance before this to thank youfor that delightful story about Atatürk. It is one of the ambitionsof my life to meet him and I would even be willing to stay up allnight…” Probably one of the greatest historians in the 21stCentury, Arnold Toynbee has summarized Atatürk’s achievementsas follows:

“In the 1920s Kemal Atatürk put through what was perhaps asrevolutionary a program as has ever been carried out in anycountry deliberately and systematically in so short a span of time.It was as if in our Western world, the Renaissance, theReformation, the secularist revolution at the end of 17th century,the French Revolution and the industrial revolution had all beentelescoped into a single life time and been made compulsory bylaw.”

It was most significant that Atatürk’s historical achievementsand the meaning of his ‘words’ were explained so eloquently onMay 19, 2006 during our celebration of the 125th Birthday ofAtatürk in the historical Cannon Caucus Room of the House ofRepresentatives of the American Congress in Washington, D.C.;and by a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representativesduring 1995-1999, the Honorable Newt Gingrich, also a greathistorian himself.

“Gingrich’s experiences as the son of a career soldier convincedhim at an early age to dedicate his life to his country and to theprotection of freedom. He received a Master’s and a Doctoratefrom Tulane University in Modern European History. Before hiselection to Congress, he taught History for eight years. He servedas a member of Congress for twenty years. He is recognizedworldwide as an expert on world history, military issues and inter-national affairs and is a member of the Secretary of Defense’sDefense Policy Board. He is the longest-serving teacher of theJoint War Fighting course for Major Generals. He serves on theTerrorism Task Force for the Council on Foreign Relations, and isan Advisory Board Member of the Foundation for the Defense ofDemocracies. He is a senior fellow at the American EnterpriseInstitute in Washington, D.C. and a distinguished visiting fellow atthe Hoover Institution at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California.”

It was indeed a very proud and emotional moment for all pres-ent in the celebration ceremony when His Excellency AmbassadorRoy Ferguson, in behalf of the Prime Minister of New Zealand,talked about Atatürk’s great humanistic virtues, especially when hequoted Atatürk’s very memorable message to the mothers ofANZAC soldiers who lost thousands of their sons at Gallipoli inthe Strait of Dardanelles during 1915 landing campaign whereTurkish mothers also lost tens of thousands of their sons. Atatürksummed up the reconciliation in his famous words:

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… youare lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets tous where they lie side by side in this country of ours… You themothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe awayyour tears. Your sons are now living in our bosom and are inpeace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become oursons as well”.

I think that 6.5 billion inhabitants on our common fragile homeplanet Earth, especially 1.3 billion people in 55 Islamic countries,always can truly find a shining way in Atatürk’s words for a betterhuman fate in the 21st century through freedom, democracy,human responsibilities as well as human rights, and science. Theywill clearly understand now that their individual faith and politicallaws must be reinterpreted and re-taught as compatible with thenatural laws as proven by scientific theories and discoveries aboutthe 14 billion years old expanding Universe of our commonCreator . In the words of Atatürk’s most important dictum:

“The truest guidance in life is science.”

As a believer in Atatürk’s philosophy and as I expressed in myfew words during the ceremony, I am sure that sooner or later, allpeoples of the world will realize that:

“Peace and better human fate on planet Earth may be possibleonly when a universal legal system and ethics based on sciencefor the common descent survival of the human race on Earth aretaught to all and accepted by all Nations and the populationgrowth rate is stabilized at a level not more than zero by eachnation under a system of world governance according to a newUnited Nations Charter and enforced through the UN SecurityCouncil and a UN Force with super power”

Our celebration of the 125th Birthday of Atatürk in Washingtonwas a great historical event not only for the Turkish people butalso for the American people and their leaders who seek and worktowards, to express in Atatürk’s words, one other great dictum,

“Peace at home, peace in the world.”Sincerely,

Turgut BurakreisASA member since [email protected]

Certificate RecipientsMr. & Mrs. Ziyaeddin & Melahat AkcasuMr. & Mrs. William & Frieda AlliMr. Nathan AltshulerMr. & Mrs. Galip M. & Ann A. ArkilicMr. & Mrs. H. Bulent & Ayte AtabekMr. Argon Atac, M.D.Mr. & Dr. Munir & Mutlu AtagunMs. Emel AytayMr. Erkin C. BakerMr. & Mrs. Zeki & Sevinc BalimtasMr. Turgut BurakreisMr. Gundogan CagalDrs. Attila & Olcay CigtayMr. & Mrs. Robert & Nazan CooperMr. & Mrs. Tolga & Ala CubukcuMr. & Mrs. M. Arif & Suzanne EraganMr.& Mrs. Oray & Ayse EsinerMr. & Mrs. Evan & Leman FotosDrs. John & Turkan GerdanierMr. Nurettin GokcoraDrs. Kemal & Meral GoknarMr. & Mrs. Celik M. & Genevieve GuracarProf. Necip GuvenMr. & Mrs. Tunca & Meral IskirMr. & Mrs. Dixon & Ayla A. JordanMr. & Mrs. Harun & Ayse KayaMrs. Sema L. KaraogluDr. & Mrs. Ali KeskinerMr. Edib KirdarMr. & Mrs. Cahit & Maya KitapliogluMs. Nur KocMrs. Sevda Kursunoglu

Mr. & Mrs. Greg & Linda LaughlinDrs. Ali & Fevziye ManizadeMrs. Gokhan MutluMr. & Mrs. Sevgin & Elizabeth OktayMrs. Tezer OvacikDr. & Mrs. Mustafa OzMr. Mahmut OzanDr. & Mrs. Vacit & Ansiline OzberkmenProf. Turker OzdoganDr. & Mrs. Fikret & Suna OzkokMr. Howard A. ReedMr. & Mrs. Manuel & Claudia T. RiveraMr. & Mrs. Celal & Olcay SecilmisMr. & Mrs. Yuksel & Belma SelcukogluMrs. Ayla SimonMs. Elaine Diana SmithDr. & Mrs. Adnan & Guner SonmezMr. & Mrs. Taclan & Demet SuerdemMs. Aynur SumerMr. & Mrs. Aydin & Mine TlabarMr. Turan TombulDrs. Jay Courtney & Lebriz Tosuner FikesDr.& Mrs. Cevdet TuranMr. & Mrs. Yilmaz & Guler TurkerPof.Dr.& Mrs. Aytekin UlgenMr. Orhan UnutmazDr. Oktay UralProf. Nejat VezirogluMr. & Mrs. Derya & Mary YavalarMr. Ibrahim YaylaMr. Edgar YucelMr. & Mrs. Ugur & Suna Yucelt

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