The judicial capitulation that destroys independence

"İstiklal" (Independence) is a one-act play by Reşat Nuri Güntekin that has been forgotten today. It was destined for me to write about this topic, which I had been thinking about writing for a long time but kept postponing and then forgot, while abroad. One of the most important factors in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire was the economic, financial, and judicial capitulations granted to imperialist states. In this one-act play, the author addresses the Judicial Capitulations that destroyed the state's monopoly on justice. The great author describes so beautifully in a one-act play what judicial capitulation meant: that a foreign national residing in Ottoman territory could not be tried by Turkish courts.

Let us begin to briefly describe the play: In this one-act play, the scene is the prison warden's office, and it never changes. The warden of a prison in a coastal town in the Aegean/Mediterranean region is talking to himself while excitedly waiting for someone in his office. For the first time in his professional life, the warden is about to witness an execution. Adalı Hüseyin, one of the town's tough guys, who had been released after serving time for his previous crimes, will leave the prison in a coffin this time. An old man, waiting silently in a corner of the room, has come to cool his heart by watching his son's killer swing from the rope.

The district governor, the prosecutor, and the judicial inspector are chatting while waiting for the "Adalı" (the Islander), who has made the district miserable, to be brought out of his cell. Having been tried for taking the life of a beloved young man of the town in his last crime, the Adalı has been sentenced to death. The district's civil administrator and judicial officials are pleased that they will soon be rid of the troublemaker who has made the town miserable.

A foreign officer and his interpreter enter the room after the gendarme knocks on the prison warden's door. These are completely unexpected guests. The reason for their arrival is understood shortly after. Terma Island, located across from the town, had passed from Ottoman control to the sovereignty of a foreign state about 5 years ago. Resul Efendi, Hüseyin's older brother, is the mayor of this island. Upon the request of Resul Efendi to save his brother, Commander Galo of the unit on the island sends a note to the Ottoman Governor. The note reminds them that since Hüseyin was born in Terma, he is their citizen, and that according to the provisions of the Judicial Capitulations signed with the Ottomans, the Ottoman courts have no jurisdiction, and thus demands the extradition of Hüseyin.

Upon Commander Galo's note, the Governor urgently writes instructions to the District Governor to stop the execution and hand Hüseyin over to those who have arrived. In the instructions that Galo's aide, a major, delivers by hand to the district governor, it is ordered that the execution be stopped immediately and the prisoner be handed over to those who have arrived. Reading the Governor's instructions, the district governor, the prosecutor, and the inspector realize that they have no other option but to hand the prisoner over to those who have arrived, especially after receiving news that two dreadnoughts and a warship with their guns turned toward the town are waiting off the coast.

For the grieving father, who is waiting for the moment when his son's killer will swing from the rope, this decision is no different from a second murder. After shouting with rebellious words, he retreats to a corner and falls silent. He has decided to carry out justice himself with a knife he hid in his sash without showing it to the others. He will finish the job with the knife hidden in his sash while Hüseyin is being handed over to the foreign officer.

Meanwhile, the Adalı, who has been taken out of his cell, has bitten the ear of one of the gendarmes, the finger of another, and broken the tooth of a third. In the warden's office, where he is brought with difficulty, he is hurling insults at the prosecutor and the district governor, saying whatever comes to his mouth. The old man, on the other hand, is waiting for the right moment to plunge the dagger. When the interpreter intervenes with a smirking expression and says that he should thank Terma Commander Galo, that the execution was stopped due to his pressure, and that they have come to take him to the Island, the Adalı is briefly stunned. After fully understanding the matter, we see a completely different Adalı Hüseyin on stage. The postponement of the execution due to the pressure of a foreign state, the fact that he will be released shortly, and the helplessness of his state in the face of foreigners have deeply wounded the national pride living in the depths of his soul.

The Adalı, who is about to be saved from the rope thanks to judicial capitulations, turns to the major from Terma and the smirking interpreter: "Against all my immorality and filth, I have one good side. I cannot tolerate foreigners, whether they are friends or enemies, sticking their noses or fingers into the affairs of my country and my state. My state and my laws are sentencing me to death. Even if it is unjust, it is my state, it is the law of my nation. Tell your commander; this thug has no education or manners. He doesn't know how to speak properly at all. He only knows one word: Independence!"

Hüseyin's tirade has shamed our administrators and deeply affected the father who was looking for an opportunity to drink the villain's blood just moments ago. Among those watching the Adalı, who extends his hands to the gendarmes to be handcuffed and heads toward the gallows after his enthusiastic speech, with teary eyes, is the father. He now sees the villain, whose blood he was dying to drink just moments ago, as a hero going to the rope so as not to humiliate his nation and his state. As the father, who was shedding tears for his child just moments ago, cries uncontrollably after the Adalı, whom he now sees as a second child, the curtain falls.