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| A Hero in War, a Generous Leader in Peace |
** A Hero in War, a Generous Leader in Peace
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A Hero in War, a Generous Leader in Peace
Cesar Chelala
Humanity
is going through a time of unusual intolerance and violence, and we run
the risk of descending into a spiral of destruction and death that
could have been avoided. In these circumstances, it is useful to
remember an episode in history that shows how words can bring closure to
a painful historical episode, and at the same time console those who
lost loved ones.
Every April, citizens of Turkey, as well as those
from Australia and New Zealand gather in northwestern Turkey rend homage
to their ancestors who lost their lives in the fields of Canakkale,
during what is generally known as the Gallipoli or Dardanelles campaign,
and also as the Battle of Gallipoli.
The Allied powers, Britain and
France, tried of make the Ottoman Empire capitulate by taking control of
the Turkish Straits, which comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara
and the Dardanelles. They are a critical 164-nautical-mile international
waterway which connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, which
constitute a major geopolitical chokepoint dividing Europe and Asia.
On
April 25, 1915, British and French forces were complemented by
thousands of soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
(ANZAC) and landed in what would later be called Anzac Cove on the
Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, as part of the Allied Forces, part of the
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, to support a naval push toward
Constantinople. But they faced strong resistance from the Ottoman
forces.
Should the Allied powers have been successful in taking the
Turkish Straits, this would have exposed the Ottoman capital of
Constantinople to bombardment by Allied forces separating it off from
the Asian part of the empire. Should the Ottoman Empire have been
defeated, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would have been opened
to the Allies supplies to the warm-water ports of Russia.
The
Battle of Gallipoli started in February 1915 with the Allied fleet
trying to force passage through the Dardanelles. It ended in January
1916 when, after eight months of fighting and over 250,000 lost soldiers
on each side lost their lives. The campaign was stopped and the
invasion force withdrew. It was a costly campaign for both sides, and a
sound defeat for the Allied powers and for the sponsor of the
expedition, especially for the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston
Churchill.
It was a remarkable victory for the Turkish forces,
commanded by Mustafa Kemal Atatṻrk (Atatṻrk means Father of the Turks).
Mustafa Kemal was highly revered after that battle and went on to become
founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Mustafa
Kemal, then a 34-year-old Lt.-Col., had been familiar with the Gallipoli
Peninsula from his operations against Bulgaria during the Balkan War.
As
president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal led a sweeping set of reforms to
build a republican and secular nation-state. He made primary education
free and compulsory, gave women equal civil and political rights as men,
new language and dress codes were mandated, and considerably shrank the
role of Islam in the country.
In addition, he closed all religious
schools, prohibited the wearing of headscarves among public sector
employees, adopted the Gregorian calendar in place of the Islamic
calendar, changed the Turkish alphabet from Arabic letters to Roman
ones, and even forbade the wearing of fez hats among men.
For the
Australian and New Zealand forces it marked the beginning of national
consciousness and laid the foundations for friendly relations among the
people from Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. 25 April, known as Anzac
Day, anniversary of the landings, is the most significant commemoration
for the two countries.
The prestige Mustafa Kemal gained during the
Gallipoli Campaign allowed him to create the Republic of Turkey as a
secular nation with Western values, revitalizing it from the ruins of
the Ottoman Empire. After the Gallipoli campaign, he proved to be as
generous in peace as he had been daring in war.
An incident showed
his stature as a statesman. 14 years after the Gallipoli Campaign, and
as president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal was given a letter by his
aide-de-camp. In the letter, the mothers of the Anzac soldiers fallen at
Gallipoli were requesting permission to visit the graves of their sons.
The Turkish leader thought briefly on how to respond. His aid suggested
to him, “Warn them that if anyone invades us again, we’ll break off
their legs.” Mustafa Kemal, however, said, “I cannot do that.” Instead,
he sat down and wrote to the mothers of the Anzac soldiers,
“Those
heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in
the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no
difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie
side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent
their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are
now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives
on this land they have become our sons as well.”
The words are now
inscribed in the Memorial of Anzac Cove, which commemorates the loss of
thousands of Ottoman and Anzac soldiers who gave up their lives at
Gallipoli. They show that Mustafa Kemal wasn’t only a remarkable
politician. He was a great statesman as well.
By Paola Bilancieri |
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