«
January 24, 2007
Meet the Monster: Turkish Fascism
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Hrant Dink, a beacon of conscience and liberty, was shot dead on Jan. 19. Since that black Friday, many Turks have shown the virtue to condemn this heinous murder and cry out for the memory of this noble man. Yet some of our “opinion leaders” have also invented concealed plots against “the Turkish nation” behind this public killing. This is, they rushed to conclude, a maneuver by “foreign powers” and their intelligence services directed at putting Turkey in a difficult situation in the international scene.
But lo and behold! The Turkish police caught the killer and he turned out to be no agent of the CIA. Nor of Mossad, MI6, Mukhabarat, or some People's Army for The Liberation of The Turkish-Occupied Wherever. He is neither Armenian nor Kurdish. He is, as his family proudly noted, “of pure Turkish stock.” Moreover, as he himself proudly noted, he is a die-hard Turkish nationalist who killed Dink out of his zeal for the “Turkish blood.” It also turned out that the 17-year-old apparatchik was directed by his elder “brothers” in Trabzon who have an ugly history of nationalist violence. The city, after all, is the citadel of ultra-nationalism: Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro was also shot there a year ago by a 16-year-old militant, who had a profile very similar to his comrade who killed Dink.
In the face of all that, it is simply tragic and repulsive to see some prominent figures in Turkey who insist on putting the blame on imagined “external enemies.” Alas, enough is enough, and it is time be honest. What we are facing is an internal enemy. And it deserves to be called “Turkish fascism.”
Measuring The Turkish Skull
The term does not imply an organic link between Turks and the fascist ideology. The latter is a modern disease that has influenced many nations throughout the 20th century. Germans and Italians are the two most obvious cases, of course, but there are countless others. Even the quintessentially liberal Anglo-Saxons had their experience with the monster. (Remember the Ku Klux Klan and the British Union of Fascists.)
In Turkey, the story of fascism is most ironic, because although our contemporary fascists are fanatically anti-Western, the ideology is an import from the West into the traditionally multicultural lands of the great Ottoman Empire. It all began with the Social Darwinism that some Young Turk intellectuals, such as Yusuf Akçura, acquired in European capitals in the turn of the century. Their vision of a fully Turkified state came true in the 1920's, with the creation of the Turkish Republic. Atatürk's vision for this new state was not racist, he instead defined Turkishness in terms culture and citizenship, but things started to change in the '30s. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany were admired by some of the Republican elite, such as Recep Peker, the long-time general secretary of the CHP (the party, which is now chaired by his intellectual descendant, Deniz Baykal.) The Turkey of the '30s also imitated corporatism, the economic model of fascist Italy, and internalized Mussolini's motto, “Everything for the State; nothing outside the State; nothing against the State."
In the same period, “Turkishness” also acquired an ethnic meaning. An officially sanctioned “scientific” congress was held in Ankara in 1932, in which the “advanced” features of the “Turkish skull” was praised and Turks were proudly declared to be “Aryans.” During the same period, public calls for applicants to government offices demanded them to be “of the Turkish stock.” Tevfik Rüştü Aras, the foreign minister, affirmed, “Kurds will be beaten by Turks in the struggle for life.” And Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, the minister of justice, notoriously announced, “In Turkey, non-Turks are the servants and slaves of Turks.”
During the war years, Turkey also initiated the infamous Wealth Tax, which was designed to confiscate the properties of its Christian and Jewish citizens. 1942, the first and only Jewish labor camp was established in Aşkale, a district in Erzurum. Had the Third Reich won the war, Turkey apparently would not have had much trouble fitting into its “new order.”
The Hysteria On ‘Internal Enemies'
Of course, Turkey never became fully fascist, but there is plenty of evidence to argue that it was deeply influenced by that monstrous ideology. But, alas, since Turkey never became fully fascist, it never had the chance to fully liberate itself from it. Post-war Germany, Italy and Japan started as tabula rasas, but Turkey had only a partial transition to democracy. In 1950, the Democrat Party (DP) came to power in the first free and fair elections since the beginning of the republic, with the motto, “Enough, the nation has the word!” But with a military coup in 1960, the DP was crushed by despots in uniform, who did not hesitate to execute Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and two of his ministers after a show trial.
Since then, fascism, not as a system but a spirit, has survived in Turkey. The depiction of all other nations as “the enemies of Turks,” the cult of personality built around the country's founder, and the deification of the state are all elements of that spirit. In recent years, as a reaction to the EU-inspired push for more democracy and freedom, the fascist rhetoric has ascended. Some elements of the media, along with some pundits, bureaucrats and politicians, systematically spread the fear that Turkey is facing existential threats. Kurds, Armenians, Jews, Greeks, missionaries, non-nationalist Muslims — anybody who falls outside the narrow definition of a “good Turk” — are all seen as “internal enemies,” who are in bed with the external ones — the Europeans, the Americans, Iraqi Kurds, and, actually, the whole world.
The militant who killed Dink is the product of this popular hysteria. Unless we accept this bitter fact and start to think seriously about our internal fascism, it is quite likely that Turkey will produce more of them. “Nationalism is the last refuge of the scoundrel,” said Samuel Johnson. We should not tolerate becoming a nation of scoundrels.
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at January 24, 2007 9:22 AM
Samuel Johnson’s quote is an appropriate ending to your insightful piece. Thank you.
Likewise, Albert Einstein said “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind” . How prophetic when considering as the young minds are filled with hateful thoughts to perpetuate senselessness. One can only hope that tragic death of Hrant Dink can at least serve as a final wake up call for Turkey to defeat the internal “Hate Propaganda”
Posted by: Celal at January 24, 2007 11:52 PM
Mr. AKYOL is both teaching scientifically and making us ponder upon the real meaning of some political terms, such as fascism.
Of course, there might be some points that can be criticized in what he elegantly wrote here.
However, nothing more than I can write concerning his piece of writing above, that it is incumbent upon every intellectual to appreciate his efforts on behalf of science of politics and being scientific.
Posted by: Kubilay Ant at January 25, 2007 3:24 PM
pan-turkism was an ideology which resulted as a reaction to the fervent anti-turkism and social darwinism of europeon nations in the late 1800s. the ottoman empire would not expel or wipe out populations after conquering their nations, yet when the austrians, french and russians conquered ottoman territories in the 1800s turks living in those territories were either massacred or forced to flee. pan-turkism was a response to the anti-turkism which was prevalent in europeon societies in those times (keep in mind that since the first crusade around 1071 turks had been characterised by christian europe as barbarians and animals). finally in the 1800s as the ottoman empire was declining and turks in former ottoman territories were being subjugated by europeon nations the veiled barbarianism innate in europeon idealogy at the time became clear to turks. the turks began to respond idealogically. That is how the young turks were born - a reaction to the anti-turkism of europe. anti-turkism still exists in europe, social stigmas and prejudices from the days of the once dominant ottoman and seljuk empires.
what you call turkish facism is an exaggeration of what is infact turkish nationalism, and a gross exaggeration in that. keep in mind that turkish nationalism climaxed in 1919 when the europeons had destroyed the ottoman empire and pursued the megali idea in which all remaining turkish territories were to become greek territores and the entire turkish population to be eliminated. turkish nationalism saved the turkish people from genocide. a tame lion will respond violently to the man who whips him, and will be suspicous of men from then on.
As a turkish jew i can assure you that jews in turkey have NEVER been discriminated against, and your blatant lie about a jewish labor camp in turkey is a lie, turkey accepted thousands of jewish refugees from nazi germany and albert einstein himself wrote a letter to ankara asking for refuge. Mustafa Kemal himself said "We are in gratitude to the jew, who in our hour of need, did not abandon us" (he is speaking reference to funding by jews during the turkish war of independence).
as a turk and a human being i have to deny Mr Akyols outrageous claim that turks consider the world their enemy. the relationship they share between jews, koreans and hungarians is proof of this. you have a lot of nerve to claim turks despise jews, a people with whom they have had a friendship since the spanish inquisition in 1492.
I would like to ask where you found all this information from, Mr Akyol, as i find it highly interesting that you cited ABSOLUTELY NO REFERENCES FOR THE "INFORMATION" you provide in the above article.
to the reader: please consider this perspective from an ordinary turk before basing your conclusions on the highly exaggerated and generally false writings of Mr. Akyol.
Posted by: eren at March 15, 2007 10:32 AM
Mr. Akyol iam thanking you very much for the article you have written and shown the real faces of turks. I am a kurdish Alevi and i personally along with my family have seen how fascist the turks are. In turkey right now their is a war between Pkk and the turkish millitary and of course again kurds are blamed. Really if Turkey had given the Kurds the freedom they wanted 20 years ago nothing like this would of happened. Kurdish people just want freedom, they want to speak their own language in Turkey, have their own radio broadcast's, have their Tv channels and most importantly they want democracy is this a lot to ask for. Hatred against Kurds started since from the ottamans and now they are hated even more. Pkk is called terroists but no Turk has gone to the Pkk and asked them why did you start such a thing like this. People like Ahmet kaya, Yilmaz guney, Deniz Gezmis and many more have being some how got killed or sent away from Turkey for what they beleievd in and what they beleived in was demoracy. But of course Turkey doesn't want democracy they want Fascism and they are getting what they won't.
Posted by: hazal at January 12, 2008 10:16 PM
eren gardaşım
first of all if it can be regarded as a war there must be two armies and two nations. they are only rebellious traitors.they became a tool of america and sionism.
türkey is a country that cannot be divided by anyone or anyforce if you want a free country you should go to ıraq and became free and democratic!!!
Posted by: evladı-ı fatihan at April 17, 2008 10:22 PM
Kubilay Ant,
I can understand and agree with the history of the reason why the state of modern day Turkey has become what it is today, as you explained. What I cannot agree with, and you point out with such clarity, is the hyper-sensitivity which many Turks, such as yourself, respond with when taking a very close look inwards to our problems. When we become so guarded and defensive to the point where we can only respond with anger by saying other points of view are nonsense (which seems to be a typical Turkish trait amongst the majority) it is we as a people who lose because we will never move forward intellectually by examining ourselves through objective eyes. Someone is no less Turkish than you because they are able to do so....
Posted by: Deniz Demir at May 19, 2008 6:23 PM
Dear Hazal,
I would like to ask you can you put all the Turks in same basket as you generelazing by saying 'how fascist the Turks are'? I think your Kurdish blood and hate inside you talks here don't you think?
Pkk did not have to start terrorism even though 'no Turks gone and ask them'? communication is other way of solving the problem don't you think?
As I have lot of Kurdish friends since my childhood they could speak their language freely with no problem and I set with one of Kurdish friend in Primary school.
Please could you think more logically and leave hate and try to gain love in your heart.
Posted by: Arzu at July 25, 2008 8:19 PM
I'm always into discussions on anything organic, so this read made me feel at home.
I'll bookmark the site and subscribe to the feed!
Posted by: Acai Berry Pills at August 24, 2008 9:15 PM