Cultural Post 3: Atatürk

[Samuel Benjamin Washburne]

When I first came to Turkey one thing I instantly realized was just how important this man was.  I had read about him and some of the history classes that I have taken covered (lightly) the rise of the Republic of Turkey, but I ever expected to have this man staring at me around every corner.  He was an officer in WWI and following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire 1918, he led the country to independence from foreign powers.  After WWI, Greece requested permission from the great powers to extend it's territory to that of what ancient Greece was.  A classic situation of irredentism.  Britain was in control of the Dardanelles and France had taken over Syria.  With the help of these two powers, Greece made great headway at the beginning of their campaign.  However, due to the heroics and genius of Atatürk, he was not only able to repel the entire Greek force, but he was also able to force the British out of Istanbul.  Following the creation of the Republic, Atatürk turned the new country into a secular nation and implemented the Latin alphabet.  The principles of Atatürk's reforms, upon which modern Turkey was established, are referred to as Kemalism.  Long after Atatürk's death, his presence can still be felt in Turkey.  Kemalism is till alive, the strongest advocates being in the army, and it continues to be a guiding force in the country.  Since Kemal's death, the military has intervened on many occasions in attempts to protect the Republic against the erosion of any of Atatürk's principles.  Today, there is a very large split in Turkey due to the growing power of the AKP party, which is viewed by Kemalists and liberals as pro-Islam.  The AKP party has pushed for major reforms in the hopes that Turkey may receive a bid into the E.U.  However, some of these reforms have been seen by some as bringing Islam into the government.  It will be interesting to see if there is a rise of Kemalism among civilians since the strength of the military has been greatly diminished since the rise of the AKP to power in 2001.  Atatürk left more than a foot print on Turkey, in many aspects he is Turkey.  To this day, It is still a serious crime (as in, you will get jail time) to slander or commit libel against the great leader.