I had the opportunity to conduct a tele-interview on October 29 with Turgut Özakman, author of ‘Those Crazy Turks,’ a book about the first war of liberation in the world to be fought and won against imperialism, won under the leadership of Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and which has reached millions of readers through 353 printings. First of all, I should say that it was a very enjoyable interview. I also learned some interesting things.
I don’t think there’s any need to say that, besides being a good historian, Özakman is a leading figure in journalism. In fact, on the day the Republic of Cyprus came to an end in 1963, Mr. Özakman was in Cyprus as a correspondent for Ankara Radio... He was even one of the journalists who witnessed the day the insignia of the vice presidency was broken off and thrown away in front of Dr. Fazıl Küçük’s car…
This fact alone makes it clear that there is no need to debate Mr. Özakman’s interest in and knowledge of Cyprus!
One of the first things that caught my attention in the interview was what happened when I told Mr. Özakman that we, too, were celebrating Turkey’s Republic Day. As I was saying this, Mr. Özakman immediately interjected, and listen to what he said: “Just as you did exactly 86 years ago… In other words, you celebrated back then, too, when the Republic of Turkey was declared. You are a very loyal, understanding, and patriotic people.”
What Mr. Özakman said immediately after that was even more meaningful. In my view, the information he shared provided an answer grounded in historical facts to remarks and questions sometimes voiced by various circles in our country, or on people’s minds, such as “Why is the October 29 Republic Day celebrated in the TRNC?” and “It’s not a day that concerns us!”
Listen to how Mr. Özakman explains why we celebrate this important day for Turkey: “There were heroic Turkish soldiers who came from Cyprus to take part in this war.” In other words, Mr. Özakman is saying that you are celebrating the Republic, which came about as a result of a war you took part in and won. This information also reveals one of the reasons the Turkish military came to the island on July 20, 1974. And it perhaps highlights something many of us don’t know.
Defining the relationship between Turkey and Cyprus, Mr. Özakman says, “We became politically separate, but we did not become spiritually separate,” and adds, “That’s how Cyprus is. Looking at Cyprus’s history, Turks have become very closely interwoven with its people. They have become one… In other words, we are blood brothers in history.”
Mr. Özakman, who describes the relationship between Turkey and Cyprus in these words, sums up its present state as follows: “If Cyprus catches a cold, Turkey cannot remain healthy; it gets sick, too. We are connected to one another by many veins.”
Of course, our conversation was not limited to relations between Turkey and Cyprus! Referring to Atatürk’s words to explain relations between Turkey and Greece, Mr. Özakman put it this way: “The Great Offensive has been launched, and the army is advancing. The Greek army has burned and destroyed everything. Atatürk turns to İsmet Pasha and says: ‘There may come a day when we become friends with the Greeks, too. Let us be ready for that.’”
Finally, I would like to bring to your attention a particularly striking observation by Mr. Özakman, who once again reveals Atatürk’s vision and peaceful nature: “Atatürk is the only politician and soldier to say, ‘A war that is unprovoked, unjust, and not fought in self-defense is murder.’”
I don’t think there’s anything more to say after an interview like this.
But of course, you are free to say what you have to say…
Until Tuesday, I hope…
Take care of your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be courteous in traffic!
_Note: You can watch footage of the interview at the link below._ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb3gyh\_yyu-cylgyn-turky-turgut-ozakman-cem\_shortfilms The camel replied, “What part of me is straight?” ---3.12.2009 The day before yesterday, my guest on the Midday Agency program I hosted on Ada TV was Anıl Kaya, president of the Bright Tomorrows Movement. We had a very enjoyable program with Mr. Kaya. I say enjoyable because we talked about the country’s problems in general, and, frankly, “I’ve realized that I really, really enjoy this now.” In other words, talking about the country’s problems is a lot of fun for me…
I think it’s not just me who finds it enjoyable; our society takes deep pleasure in it, too. The thing we know best is talking about problems. You know, like those football conversations that begin, “Hey, what’s going to happen to Fener?”—“Hey, what’s going to happen to this country?”
That’s where every conversation starts! Right after the question, “What’s going to happen to this country?”, people start talking about the country’s problems. And often, just before they start listing those problems, they say: “You know, the other day I went to …! They still haven’t solved those problems…”
Yes, don’t we have those famous complaints that begin with “the other day”?
Those complaints are exactly the words that help us hit the ‘bull’s-eye’ of the problems.
What’s even funnier is that politicians use this very same turn of phrase. Indeed, we have politicians who have landed in this position while running the state! Just imagine: the people responsible for solving problems complaining about them…
As I mentioned at the start of my column, we talked about problems with Anıl Kaya. There are a number of issues that Mr. Kaya and the members of the Bright Tomorrows Movement have brought to public attention. I think it’s more worthwhile to keep raising them than to talk about the law regulating the salaries and pay scales of public-sector employees.
Our first topic was, of course, the army of 114 advisers sent home because of new appointments, costing the state more than 10 million TL a year. Can you imagine? With that money, 555 young people could get jobs in the public sector.
But no! These 114 people, who do no work and complain about it, still get paid every month—and some of them even earn as much as 9,000 TL. Every government department knows about this, yet no one speaks up! Well, good for them… What can we say?
The second issue we discussed was retired people continuing to work. Mr. Kaya even names a place: “There are people who are now retired and working at DAÜ,” he says. So is anyone taking action on this or trying to stop it? No!
Isn’t the same true of civil servants who take on a second job? While dozens of young people remain unemployed and are forced to leave this country, those who work for the state and also take a second job leave no room for them to work. And they do this in complete violation of the law. Yet no one in this country can speak up about it… Well, good for them… What can we say?
Another issue concerns energy conservation. Mr. Kaya, president of the Bright Tomorrows Movement, requested a project being implemented in Australia from the Australian minister responsible for the subject. He received a response within two days, and the entire project was sent to him. Mr. Kaya then took the project and submitted it to the Ministry of the Environment. He has been waiting for a response for a month and a half. I can almost hear you saying, “He’ll be waiting a lot longer.” It’s a situation worthy of Aziz Nesin. A reply comes from the other side of the world in two days, but none comes from Nicosia. Well, good for them… What can we say?
It’s best not to say anything else about the matter!
They asked a camel, “Why is your neck crooked?”
The camel replied, “What part of me is straight?”
Until Tuesday, I hope…
Take care of your surroundings, keep them clean, and be courteous in traffic!