Bravo! Take heart! Atatürk’s Turkish Youth is on the march.
This is an incredible moment in the history of modern Turkey. It completes the vision of that genius Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the man who could see through time, who foresaw the future. The man whose memory is the organizing power of today’s gigantic events in Turkey. For the noble blood of the Turkish Youth has risen to save Atatürk’s nation, the treasure he deeded to the “youth” of all ages in 1927.
“Turkish child of future generations,” he said in closing his Great Speech in 1927, “it is your duty to save the independence of the Turkish Republic. The strength that you will need for this is in the noble blood which flows in your veins.”
This noble blood is now being spilled on the streets of every major city in Turkey.
The prime minister has called these courageous resisters “looters” and “vandals” and “plunderers” and “pillagers.” He used the word çapulcu. This is utter nonsense. The prime minister has simply opened his habitually divisive, abusive mouth. Easier to stop the ocean tides than to shut up such a person’s invective. In fact Erdoğan and his coterie are the real looters and plunderers. Virtually all government assets and services have been sold at bargain basement prices to insiders. Quick flip resales have made Erdoğan’s fawning backers fabulously wealthy. Erdoğan himself, who came to office ten years ago whining that he couldn’t feed and educate his family on a prime minister’s salary, is now reputed to be a billionaire. But that hasn’t improved either his temper or his language. Last week, throwing more verbal gas on an already simmering public, he called Atatürk a drunk. He has so recklessly enflamed the nation that even the slightest incident could have set it ablaze. And the cutting of a tree did the trick. A week ago, when a peaceful demonstration began in a park to save its trees from being raped by yet another shopping mall, the saviors were attacked at night by the police with gas bombs and clubs. As usual it was a sneak attack, a specialty of Erdoğan’s fascist cops. Even the kids’ tents were set ablaze. Such is the violent nature of the ruling party. But such have been the ways of fascists throughout history.
And Atatürk knew it. “Turkish Youth!” he implored, “Your primary duty is ever to preserve and defend the National independence of the Turkish Republic.” And then he listed the possible dire future conditions: all the arsenals and fortresses may have been captured; the army is scattered; the country is under occupation. Then with stunning foresight he described today. Only if one understands the below passage can one comprehend the absolutely magical event that is the Gezi Park Resistance Movement. The following words of Atatürk from 1927 deserve attentive reading for they describe the prevailing conditions today, eighty-six years later. This is what has called the Turkish Youth to duty.
“And sadder and graver than all these circumstances, those who hold power within the country may be in error, misguided and may even be fools or traitors. Furthermore, they may identify personal interests with the political designs of the invaders. The country may be impoverished, ruined and exhausted. Even under such circumstances, Turkish child of future generations, it is your duty to save the independence of the Turkish Republic. You will find the strength you need in your noble blood.”
So when the AKP, the ruling power, that is, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sneakily removed the designation “TC” that stands for Turkish Republic ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti)) from government offices and bureaus, it provoked widely. It was yet another attempt to collapse the nation founded by Atatürk. And last week the Turkish Youth answered. They knew instinctively what to do for every mother’s child of present and future Turkish generations knows the cautionary words of Mustafa Kemal’s prophetic speech by heart. And so they marched. “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal!” they shouted, his spirit hastening their every step.
Atatürk was a singular man, indeed a man beyond compare. In Turkish and in Turkey he’s called “Tek Adam.” No other historical figure comes close. Ataturk was both incredibly real and an incredible realist. He saw everything. His thoughts and deeds are scrupulously documented and unassailable. And no other revolution compares to the one now ongoing, one with all the characteristics of an Atatürk operation. Great attention to detail. Superb movement and logistics. Surprise and spontaneity. Intelligent. Confident. Courageous. And peaceful, until the violent intervention of Erdoğan’s fascist robo-cops.
Above all, this is a spontaneous rising, one that has at last leveled social, economic and political playing fields in Turkey. In short, the establishment doesn’t know what hit them. The politicians in power, the hapless politicians of the lamentable opposition, the shattered army neutered by the ruling power via ludicrous conspiracies, the ever collaborating business patrons, the spineless media, the expert TV analysts…none of them have a clue. They are like the Greeks at Dumlupınar, the site of Atatürk’s great victory in 1922. Confused, confounded, completely off balance, the old establishment gropes in the fog of their complacency for understanding. But the kids have done it. They are in charge. And they will stay in charge. Their achievement is a work of art, one of genuine genius. As a determined Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon so did the Turkish Youth storm across the Bosporus.
Mark well this event for it will not disappear. Rather it will surely intensify. Think of it as an infinite series of flying columns, that assemble at a moment’s notice, and move with great speed when and wherever needed. A whistle blown under a window. Car horns late at night. Flags in the street. And off they go. Think of it as the Turkish conscience. Think of it as the end of using government as a plunder mechanism. Think of it as a way of providing a brightening future for the Turkish people, a nation of one people. As for the overweight felines? They should think and think again carefully. For they don’t they-will they-will ROCK YOU! So beware all you confused, complacent fat cats. Your seats no longer seem secure.
This movement is the reification of Mustafa Kemal’s liberating Borsa and Turkish Youth speeches. And this is a profound precedent for the Turkish nation. No more coups! No more CIA conspiracies! Who needs an army when one has this caliber youth to protect the nation?
Together, the Atatürk-youths of irrelevant age and enlightened minds, will toss the AKP fascists onto the garbage dump of history precisely on top of the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire. Let the nation be reformulated as a model of enlightened social and political philosophy. Atatürk, a warrior, philosopher, politician, educator, social scientist and above all a LEADER, would surely grieve for the suffering of his young people at the hands of their violent rulers. Atatürk’s Turkish Youth is of the epic stature of the heroes of Çanakkale and the War of Independence. Imagine Mustafa Kemal’s joy at the fulfillment of his legacy by these young heroes. They are saving his “sacred treasure” from the pillagers and plunderers.
These are astounding times.
Cem Ryan, Ph.D.
Istanbul
6 June 2013