Reflections on the Republicans' victory at the Istanbul Bar Association: From the Balkan defeat to the liberation of Edirne

The Defeat of Vienna (1683) marked the beginning of the collapse alongside the end of Turkish supremacy in Central Europe. The entry of the Russian Army into Istanbul (Ayastefanos-Yeşilköy) following the breakthrough on the Danube and Caucasus fronts during the 1877 Ottoman-Russian War, known as the '93 War (1293), was the second major defeat. The third defeat is the Balkan Defeat suffered against the alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. 

The Balkan War Defeat (October 8, 1912 – May 30, 1913) is the heaviest defeat the Turkish Army has suffered throughout history. The defeat suffered on the fronts against the Balkan states alliance descended upon society like a nightmare, with consequences that went far beyond the dimensions of a military defeat.

In the defeat of the Turkish Army, which was not lacking in terms of troop numbers and equipment compared to the Balkan states, the entry of politics into the army, the inadequate and incompetent command echelon, and the lack of training played a major role. At the end of a few months of war, Rumelia, a 500-year-old Turkish homeland, was almost completely lost, Edirne, the second capital, fell, and the Bulgarian Army reached Çatalca. Rumelian Turks were mercilessly subjected to genocide, and hundreds of thousands of Turks, torn from their lands and having their property seized, formed a miserable chain of migration between Edirne and Istanbul.  

The Balkan defeat created a deep psychological collapse in the civilian population; the army, seen as responsible for the defeat, fell from the public's favor, and officers could no longer walk the streets in uniform. The partial compensation for the shame of defeat would be realized with the recapture of Edirne and Kırklareli in the 2nd Balkan War (August 1913). The transformation of the uniform, the soldier's attire, back into a symbol of the public's collective pride would be ensured by the blood shed by the 'Mehmets' for the sake of the homeland in the 1915 Gallipoli battles.

It is a known reality that in periods when the rule of law disappears, the judiciary turns into a tool of pressure for the government, freedom of thought and expression cannot be exercised, despotic attitudes and practices lead to social depression and collective cynicism, and unions and professional organizations are co-opted or neutralized, society enters a state of collective depression and becomes almost afraid to speak.

In today's Turkey, which presents a picture similar to the table described above, it should be considered that the result of the general assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, managed by an 'opening' (açılımcı) mentality, held on October 24-25, created a social enthusiasm similar to the recapture of Edirne. 

The change in management, which resulted in the victory of the Republican Power Union (Cumhuriyetçi Güç Birliği) alliance, creating a perception of victory that transcends the legal community, shows the longing and clear support of the public and the masses, who are uneasy about the indivisible integrity of the country and the unitary structure of the nation-state being opened to debate, for individuals and institutions that defend the gains of the Republic with determination and courage!

To ensure that the founding architecture of October 29, 1923, is not dismantled, for the nation-state and unitary structure, and to put a stop to the 'opening' process, which is nothing more than an attempt to divide our citizens into ethnic compartments instead of the unity and integrity of the Turkish Nation, the only way is the Republican Power Union!