Remembering Atatürk

On November 10, 1938, at five minutes past nine, time stood still. Turkey was plunged into tears. Eleven people lost their lives in the crush of those who wanted to pay their final respects at Dolmabahçe Palace.

There were fears of further loss of life during the funeral prayer.

The question was put to the first President of Religious Affairs of the Republic, a hero of the National Struggle, Rıfat Börekçi. His response went down in history and touched hearts.

“The funeral prayer for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk can be performed anywhere on the soil of the homeland he purified.”

The prayer was held at Dolmabahçe Palace.

The great savior, the Leader of the Revolution, was a thinker, a diplomat favoring peace, and a symbol of enlightenment.

He dedicated his final years to studies on the Turkish language, history, and archaeology; under his leadership, Turkish archaeology experienced its golden age.

With his revolutionary spirit, inexhaustible energy, extraordinary foresight, and vast knowledge, he was reborn every day, astonishing those around him with his sharp and radical decisions.

There were those who called him a dictator. Had he been a dictator, he would not have tolerated the opposition groups that existed continuously in Parliament from the day it was founded, nor would he have needed to engage in persuasion efforts with messages about the “internal front” during the most critical decisions.

He was not a dictator, but he possessed absolute authority and was locked onto his goal.

His goal was the Revolution.

A new baby had been born in the young Republic; its name was REVOLUTION. It was his child. But he wanted it to be the Child of the Nation. He used all his authority to protect and sustain this baby that had opened its eyes to the world, the REVOLUTION. He strove for this weak and naive baby to grow and gain strength. He protected it against manipulations that would prevent the nation from embracing this baby and cloud its mind.

He knew that the Revolution was not a grassroots movement. It had not come from the bottom; it had been imposed from the top. Otherwise, it would not have been called a REVOLUTION. At its birth, it had demolished and overturned the centuries-old decrepit structures, the dynastic sultanate that drew power from ignorance and considered the citizen a “subject.” What he began to build was a contemporary, civilized, and fully independent country reaching toward “enlightenment” under the guidance of reason and science.

He dedicated his life to the Revolution, using all his authority for the Revolution. He endured all kinds of threats, smears, betrayals, and assassination attempts for the sake of the Revolution. Because he knew: to keep the Revolution alive meant to keep a Nation alive.

Throughout his life, his surroundings were overflowing with people.

Yet, he was a “lonely man.”

As he told Salih Bozok during an Anatolian tour;

“In my whole life, I have always been alone; at school, at the front, in Parliament, always alone… At the tables where people complained, among my friends, in those crowds, always alone…”

He was a Revolutionary, and that was why he was condemned to loneliness. It was because his horizon of thought and his vast accumulation of knowledge could not be reached. It was because he had to walk the path with those who struggled to keep up with his thoughts and his courage.

Those who covered their own inadequacies in perception with smears, accusing him of being a dictator and his Party of being Fascist, perhaps received the best answer years later from the world-renowned sociologist, political scientist, and constitutional lawyer Maurice Duverger:

“In fascist regimes based on a single party, the defense of democracy has replaced the defense of authority, which is encountered every day in Kemalist Turkey.

The best example of this is provided by the Republican People's Party, which operated as the sole party in Turkey from 1923 to 1946. The primary characteristic of this party is its democratic ideology. This party, with its rational ideology that separates religion from politics, has approached the French Revolution.”

He had spent every moment of his life serving his nation. However, there was still much he wanted to do for his Nation.

He had not completed the journey he had embarked upon in the infinity of science. He could not get enough of the books he read until the early hours of the morning. He had not secured his country against the approaching threat of war. He had not been able to fulfill the promises he made to the peasant, who is the master of the nation. Most importantly, he had not yet reached the end of the Revolution.

But he was ill… His body could no longer carry the vitality of his soul. While complaining to his childhood friend Ali Fuat Cebesoy, he had said, “You know that nothing can be managed from a bed in our country. I must be in a position to intervene in state affairs.”

October 29 was approaching. His greatest wish was to be in Ankara on the 15th anniversary of the Republic. He had prepared his speech.

His insistence, “Let’s go to Ankara, children, to Ankara… Whatever I am to become, let it be there,” continued.

Ankara was his creation. It was his capital.

However, he could not go; he had dropped to 40 kilograms. The speech he prepared days before his death was read in Parliament.

He had expressed his final wish, perhaps his testament;

“I expect from the high generosity of the Grand National Assembly that the Land Law reaches a conclusion. It is absolutely necessary that every Turkish farmer family owns the land they work and live on. The foundation and development of the homeland lie in this principle.”

When his blue eyes closed, he knew that this Nation, from whose love he drew strength throughout his life, would carry him in its heart forever.

The void he created was never filled, and what was left unfinished could not be completed.

The Turkish Nation showed the truth to those who thought they could erase Atatürk from history by destroying the institutions of the Republic and annihilating its principles. The light of the love for Atatürk prevailed over the darkness of malice.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk continues to lead Turkey and point the way to enlightenment with his thoughts, principles, and love.

Atatürk is reborn every day, continuing to be a source of hope for his nation.

With tears in our eyes on some days, a smile on our faces on others, and with the pride of protecting the fully independent, secular, and democratic Republic of Turkey that he left us, overflowing with infinite love from our hearts, we are with Him every day…

With gratitude and respect to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk…….