A 'holy martyr' was commemorated in Istanbul... And this is how they were put in their place!..

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan gave this very harsh response to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's remarks about Erdoğan, such as "Head of the junta... chasing after the American mandate":

"Know your place! Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has served Turkey for years with the support he received from our nation and has fought against all kinds of tutelage. We have not taken orders from anyone other than our nation; we have not sought permission from anyone other than our people. We have fought against every kind of power and tutelage center targeting Turkey. It is Özgür Özel who represents a tradition that has followed politics in the shadow of coups against the national will for years. It is Özgür Özel who seeks legitimacy outside the ballot box and tries to design politics on the streets. It is Özgür Özel who has been hoping for help from foreign powers for weeks and begging for support from foreign capitals by saying 'we feel abandoned'."

Fidan explained the reason for this anger in a television program he attended recently as follows:

"There are some things that now deeply offend our efforts. I mean, calling us 'mandate-seekers'. When I heard this, I suddenly thought of the children I chose with my own hands, sent to duty, and who never returned for the independence and security of this homeland. I cannot bear this. For years, this country has been waging a tremendous war that no one sees or knows, with its soldiers, intelligence officers, police, civilians, and elements within organizations, to keep this country independent, to keep it standing... We face certain problems because we are in pursuit of independence, because we hold our heads high. Thank God we are overcoming them, we are carrying these out on our own... This is beyond criticism; it is an insult to the history, survival, and present of this state. It is impossible for me as a state to bear this. Bringing this 'mandate' talk out of the trash heap of history and carrying it to the present day is the product of a different psychology. This is the product of a mind that does not know what it is doing due to the ambition for power and does not recognize any sacred values. Some topics are not to be used, some expressions are red lines. This country has dignity, honor, and pride. You cannot speak to this country in this way."

THE 'YOUNG TURK GENOCIDE' SLANDER

"The children who were sent to duty for the independence and security of this homeland and never returned, that is, our martyrs... Insulting the history and survival of this state... The fact that this country has dignity, honor, and pride..."

These are beautiful and meaningful words, but something happened in Greece on April 6, the day CHP Chairman Özel used those expressions regarding Erdoğan.

Before that, let us recall the following.

Greece declared May 19 as the so-called "Pontic Greek genocide remembrance day" in 1994, September 14 as the so-called "Asia Minor (Aegean and Central Anatolia) Hellenism genocide remembrance day" in 1998, and April 6 as the "Eastern Thrace (the Thrace part of our country) Hellenism remembrance day" in 2022. Furthermore, it officially recognized the so-called Armenian genocide in 1996. Armenia also accepted the so-called Greek genocide in 2015.

As for what happened on April 6; while Erdoğan's friend Prime Minister Mitsotakis was explaining his weekly activities on his social media account, he claimed that "Greeks in Eastern Thrace were subjected to genocide by the Young Turks," meaning he also stamped us with the "Thrace Hellenism genocide" label.

But no one from Ankara came out to say to Mitsotakis, "Know your place. This is an insult to the history of this state. It is impossible for me as a state to bear this. This country has dignity, honor, and pride. You cannot speak to this country in this way."

WHO REMEMBERED OUR NATIONAL MARTYR?

Because every button is being pressed in the country, we have even become unable to talk about or remember many things.

For example, Thursday, April 10, was the 106th anniversary of the martyrdom of Boğazlıyan District Governor Mehmet Kemal Bey, who was executed in Istanbul's Beyazıt Square at the request of the Armenians during the Armistice period.

Before his execution, District Governor Kemal Bey was interrogated at the police station in the famous Sansaryan Han. After the interrogation, he was taken to the Bekirağa Division. He and our other state officials, who were arrested at the request of the British, were tried in the Court-Martial, which also included Nemrut Mustafa Pasha, with baseless allegations and false witness testimonies.

While these unjust and unlawful trials created outrage among the Turkish Nation, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who went to the Bekirağa Division with his aide Cevat Abbas Bey, told District Governor Kemal Bey and the other detainees that the Turkish Nation was with them.

However, as a result of the two-month trial, Kemal Bey was sentenced to death with the approval of Grand Vizier Damat Ferit and Sultan Vahdettin, and the fatwa of Sheikh-ul-Islam Mustafa Sabri Efendi. Kemal Bey's last words were:

"I am a Turkish official. I carried out the order I received. My conscience is certain that I did my duty. I swear to you that I am innocent. This is my last word today, and it will be tomorrow. They are hanging me to please foreign states. If they call this justice, damn such justice. I entrust my children to my dear brothers, the noble Turkish nation. This heroic nation will surely look after them. I am going as a martyr like a person who died on the front for the sake of the homeland. May God not let any harm come to the homeland and the nation!"

While the body of Kemal Bey, who was hanged to please foreign states, was buried next to his son's grave in Kadıköy by groups supporting the National Struggle, former members of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, students from various schools such as the School of Political Science and the Medical School, and citizens, some institutions lowered their flags against the occupation and the sultanate. Meanwhile, the Damat Ferit Government issued a declaration fearing that Kemal Bey's funeral ceremony could turn into a resistance act against the British occupation and threatened to arrest those who attended the funeral.

While Kemal Bey was declared a national martyr by the decision of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) in 1922 under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kemal, his family was placed under state protection for life.

So, while it is said that a "struggle for survival" is being waged, who commemorated District Governor Kemal Bey on the 106th anniversary of his death and how?

First of all, congratulations; the Boğazlıyan District Governorship commemorated him, and District Governor Aydın Yanık, who attended the commemoration program wearing martyr Kemal Bey's clothes, emphasized that "Mehmet Kemal Bey was executed by a fabricated court" and said, "As Mehmet Kemal Bey also said, 'Individuals die. The Turkish nation will hopefully live until eternity.'"

Another commemoration ceremony was held at Kemal Bey's grave in Kadıköy. Timsal Karabekir, the daughter of Kazım Karabekir Pasha, also attended the ceremony organized by the Kadıköy District Governorship, Kartal Municipality, the Anatolian Intellectuals Hearth, and the Kartal Atatürkist Thought Association. Making a speech at the ceremony, CHP's Kartal Mayor Gökhan Yüksel stated the following:

"Today, the games of imperialism that targeted our nation's unity, will, and independence 100 years ago still appear before us in changing forms. However, if we understand yesterday correctly, we can build tomorrow firmly... We are obliged to tell our youth about Kemal Bey, to exalt the sense of justice, and to raise a generation that stands tall against injustice. Because learning lessons from history means carrying the inspiration of the past, not its burden."

What about the government, its partners, and political parties?!

As far as I could follow, District Governor Kemal Bey was only remembered by IYI Party Deputy Chairman Selcan Taşçı, Zafer Party Chairman Prof. Ümit Özdağ, who is imprisoned in Silivri, and his deputy, retired Police Chief and July 15 veteran Fatih Eryılmaz.

THE COMMEMORATION AT THE 'GATE OF HATRED'

Those who cannot speak out against Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is a Turkish institution according to Lausanne, calling the Trabzon region "Pontus," once again claimed that Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is a "Pontic-origin Greek" on the occasion of the protest actions held in Greece following the arrest of İmamoğlu.

We are coming to this point; on April 10, there was another commemoration in Istanbul that has not been forgotten for 204 years. The person commemorated was Patriarch Gregory V, one of the ringleaders of the 1821 Morea uprising, through which Greece achieved its independence from the Ottomans through massacres.

When the role of Gregory, who was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople at that time, in the uprising was determined, he was executed in front of the middle gate, which is the main entrance of the Patriarchate, by the decision of Sultan Mahmud II. This gate, which they named the "gate of hatred," has been closed ever since that day.

And here, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, who is a Turkish citizen but uses the title "ecumenical" in violation of Lausanne, and furthermore has declared himself "Hellenic Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch," commemorated Gregory, whom they consider a "holy martyr," in front of the gate of hatred on this April 10, as he does every year, by lighting candles, leaving spring flowers, and with prayers and hymns.

WAS THEY PUT IN THEIR PLACE?

Let's set aside the violation of Lausanne for the umpteenth time; this commemoration, which also means the violation of the Ottoman Empire, should have "deeply offended our efforts" and "they should have been put in their place," right?

What putting in their place?

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who accused Özgür Özel of "insulting the history and survival of the state" and said, "It is impossible for me as a state to bear this," first invited Patriarch Bartholomew to the 4th Antalya Diplomacy Forum that started that day. He went and returned to the "City" on the same day.

Noting that Patriarch Bartholomew also attended the 3rd Diplomacy Forum held between March 1-3 last year upon the invitation of Minister Fidan, let us ask:

What message is given to whom by specifically inviting this person, who is at the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is affiliated with the Fatih District Governorship, that is, the Ministry of Interior, to a forum that is an international platform; what kind of diplomatic effort and work is expected from him on behalf of Turkey?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 13, 2025