Prof. Dr. Tufan Gündüz “Asırlık Çınar Cumhuriyetimizin Yüzyılı”nı Anlattı

Having numerous works, historian and writer Prof. Dr. Tufan Gündüz, who serves as an expert consultant on the historical quiz show “3’te 3” broadcast on TRT 1, gave a conference titled “Asırlık Çınar Cumhuriyetimizin Yüzyılı” as part of the 100th anniversary of our Republic events organized at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ).

Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Deputy Mayor Mustafa Bozkurt, university administration, academicians, students, and members of the press attended the conference.

The program, which started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, was opened by Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar. In his speech, Rector Dalgar said, “We will talk about the Republic. It will be a program from which we will receive important messages. I would like to leave the floor to the master.”

Then, Prof. Dr. Tufan Gündüz, who spoke, explained the road leading to the proclamation of the Republic and provided information about the situation of the Ottoman Empire at that time. Gündüz continued his speech as follows:

“We are talking about a century-long period. The Republic began to be built in 1923, but its lower front was incomplete. The fundamental conditions that gave birth to our Republic began to form during the First World War. The peace envisaged with us also accelerated the establishment of the republic. What we mean here is the national struggle. The national struggle is the continuation of the First World War. The Ottoman front ended with an armistice, but it did not completely close. The Turkish Nation had to face a new reality with those who occupied our entire country. We realized that Anatolia, which we thought would never be occupied, fell into the clutches of the enemy. Occupation came to the lands where the enemy did not set foot. The Ottoman Empire encountered a new enemy after 700 years. The end of the Ottoman Empire resembled the end of a man sleeping in the snow. The idea of occupation never crossed our minds. For us, the occupation of Izmir carries a meaning beyond the imperialist aims of the Greeks. Mehmet Akif Ersoy wrote a poem about the occupation of Bursa in those days.

Since 1923, we have not been watching the enemy in the homeland.

Young people, we grew up in prosperity. Yahya Kemal wrote a poem in 1918. We do not experience the feeling of being despised in the homeland in this poem, thank God. You have not experienced this feeling for a hundred years. But Yahya Kemal lost Skopje during his lifetime and could not enter there. You need to understand this feeling. You have not experienced the feeling of having the places where your father's and grandfather's graves are occupied during your lifetime, you do not know. Thank God, since 1923, we have not been watching the enemy in the homeland. Atatürk's crossing to Anatolia and trying to gather soldiers, a national struggle movement from Istanbul to Anatolia is a miracle. The armies were demobilized, we had no heavy weapons, no transport vehicles, no road network. An army that had just emerged from the First World War, soldiers had not been demobilized for 6-7 years. These were not easy tasks. Mustafa Kemal tried to awaken the people. In all speeches, especially the Sivas and Erzurum congresses, there was an effort to awaken the people. When we started watching the enemy in the homeland, we were afraid, but there was a limit: the Treaty of Sèvres. With this agreement, we saw how far we should be afraid. The national struggle movement, efforts to gather soldiers, efforts to organize irregular units in Western Anatolia, and Kuvayi Milliye resistances with local organizations entered the stage of creating a complete miracle. People who knew that Anatolia was the last refuge are the ones who made us experience the national struggle. 190 thousand people, that's all. This is the number of soldiers Mustafa Kemal could gather. When the Republic was established, our population was 11 million. Mostly from Central Anatolia because transportation and logistics were easy. Today we live in prosperity and think that our lives have always been like this. There was no prosperity at that time, they were not playing games. These were times when there were struggles with diseases, and the number of male and child deaths was high. Only 1.5 million of the 11 million people were married. In 1933, our population rose to 15 million. During the Second World War, it reached 17 million. The number of people was increased because our military power was weak. 1 million people were drafted. It showed its effect two years later. Since the young people working in the agricultural field in Anatolia went to the military, productivity in agriculture decreased, and famine occurred. It sounds like a joke that bread was sold with ration cards. We got rid of the effects of the Second World War. The picture in front of Mustafa Kemal was very heavy. The most important luxury that the Republic has given us is the opportunity to rest our population. We have grown from 11 million to 82 million.”

Turkey is entering the new century as a country offering great opportunities

Addressing the students, Gündüz emphasized that they should work by loving their country and said: “Today, we have become a country that challenges the world. We have transformed from a country that could not produce iron to a country that can produce aircraft. However, young people have a desire to go abroad. After receiving education here, they tend to leave the country. Turkey is entering the new century as a country offering great opportunities. Everyone needs to make an effort. Everyone should grow like a tree, take root, and understand their own responsibility. If we have transformed from a society hostile to our homeland and nation to a nation that trusts itself, it is time to pay our debt of loyalty to the Republic. Every citizen should think about how they can contribute to this country. Love your country. If you have the opportunity, see the beauties of your country from abroad. Taste the pleasure of being Turkish from there. Everything done without love for the homeland and nation is nothing but an empty passion.”

The program continued with answering questions from the participants. At the end of the program, Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar presented a gift to Prof. Dr. Tufan Gündüz.