NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Feb 3 2005
The letters of Ataturk’s wife to remain closed
Professor Halacoglu proposed setting up an international committee to
discuss the Armenian issue.
Private letters written by the wife of the founder of the Turkish
Republic would not be made public, a leading Turkish historian
announced Thursday.
Professor Yusuf Halacoglu, the head of the Turk History Authority,
said that the family of Latife Hamin, the divorced wife of Mustaf
Kemal Ataturk had applied to the History Authority not have the
private letters disclosed. He said that the Authority could abide by
their wishes.
`This subject is a closed matter. We are the heirs of Ataturk. Our
releasing any matters that could cause harm cannot even be an issue,’
he said.
Latife was married to Ataturk for two and half years, with the
marriage ending in divorce. The ban over the publication Latife’s
letters was lifted by a court decision last month. The letters and
dairies had been preserved by the Turk History Authority and had been
sealed for 25 years in 1980.