OYMEN’S DERSIM REMARKS DRAW IRE OF ALEVIS
Today’s Zaman
Nov 13 2009
Turkey
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Oymen has angered
Turkey’s Alevi community by referring to the Turkish government’s
response to a 1937 rebellion in the predominantly Alevi city of
Tunceli, then known as Dersim, as an example of fighting terrorism.
During a speech he delivered on Tuesday in Parliament in criticism of
the government’s Kurdish initiative, which seeks to extend the rights
of Kurds in Turkey to alleviate and ultimately end the separatist
terrorism of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Oymen said: "Didn’t
mothers also cry at the time of the Sheikh Said Rebellion? Didn’t
mothers also cry at the time of the Dersim Rebellion?" in response to
the phrase "Let no more mothers cry," frequently used by the government
as part of its efforts to end the PKK’s campaign of terrorism.
The rebellion took place in 1937 in Dersim, which had historically
been a semi-autonomous region. Dersim was renamed Tunceli after the
rebellion. The rebellion was led by Seyyid Riza, the chief of a Zaza
tribe in the region. The Turkish government of the time, led by Ä°smet
İnönu, responded with air strikes against the rebels.
Oymen’s reference to the Dersim rebels as an example of terrorism
drew anger and resentment from the country’s Alevis and Zazas.
Sinan Yerlikaya, a former CHP deputy from Tunceli who is currently
on the CHP party council, said the state’s suppression of the Dersim
Rebellion was "barbaric and cruel." He said there was nothing to
defend about how Turkey handled the rebellion.
Yerlikaya said: "The method of suppression cannot be defended in
any way. Some people might be against the order, but if these people
do not have the aim to destroy the state, all problems can be solve
through communication."
Ferhat Tunc, a folk singer from Tunceli, commented, saying: "I
watched that speech in horror. I see this as a racist, skull-measuring
approach. In my opinion, Onur Oymen committed a crime against humanity
with his discourse."
Enver Devletli, an official of the Tunceli Pir Sultan Abdal
Association, agreed, saying Oymen was a "racist." He added: "Oymen
made a statement in line with the general fascist approach of the CHP.
I condemn his words."
Baykal lashes out at Oymen
CHP leader Deniz Baykal was also angered by Oymen’s remark. Speaking
on Tuesday to his party’s Central Executive Board (MYK), Baykal
criticized Oymen’s statement, saying: "Such evaluations are open to
misinterpretations and might potentially damage the CHP’s policy of
peace and brotherhood. There is no logic in voicing such sentences
regarding sensitive topics."
He also said he had received many reactions from party members who
called him after Oymen’s speech. "The Dersim example wasn’t chic at
all. Citizens are very sensitive about this topic. I do not want such
statements again," Baykal said.
Meanwhile, CHP Tunceli-born Deputy Chairman Yılmaz AteÅ~_, Deputy
Chairman Mesut Deger and MYK member Sırrı Ozbek also harshly
criticized Oymen. CHP Tunceli branch leader Huseyin GuneÅ~_ defined
Oymen’s statement as "unfortunate." He also said they had received wide
complaints from all parts of Tunceli after the statement. "I will talk
about this face-to-face with the general headquarters administration,"
he said.
‘The CHP should apologize’
The events of 1937 in Dersim were tragic, and the violence employed by
the state came close to genocide, according to Celal Karagöz, deputy
chairman of Tunceli’s Hacı BektaÅ~_-ı Veli Culture Association. "If
he made this statement to mean that a similar method should be
employed in similar events after this date, this is a very unfortunate
statement."
Dogan Bernek, head of the Federation of Alevi Foundations, said:
"I was deeply saddened when I watched Onur Oymen’s speech. It was
a speech that well exceeded the intended purpose. He used the most
inappropriate arguments fit for a discussion."
Liberal Thought Society Alevi-BektaÅ~_i Research Center Director
Å~^enol Kaluc said the CHP should apologize for Oymen’s statements.
Tunceli Mayor Edibe Å~^ahin said living witnesses described the
handling of the Dersim Rebellion as a "massacre." She said: "We,
the residents of this place, duly note how the CHP sees what went on
here. It is time for the CHP to confront its own past and the truth."
Democratic Society Party’s (DTP) Tunceli deputy Å~^erafettin Halis
was also angry. "We were the victims of the rebellion in Dersim. We
were the ones who died, who were killed."
CHP parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, who was
born in Tunceli, was placed in a difficult position by Oymen’s words.
Kılıcdaroglu avoided commenting on the speech.
Part of CHP history
A harsh response to Oymen’s words about the Dersim Rebellion came from
Star columnist Ergun Babahan, who responded by saying: "Did any mother
cry in Dersim? No, none did because there was no mother left to cry.
All were killed along with their babies in their arms. Nobody knows
how many died or were killed in the incidents of 1937 and 1938."
Babahan quoted Muhsin Batur, a senior air force commander who
participated in the efforts to suppress the rebellion, from Batur’s
memoirs, saying: "We received orders and got to Elazıg by train. From
there on, we began the operations starting in Pertek [in Tunceli]. I
served in Dersim for close to two months. I apologize to my readers,
but I’ll avoid recalling this part of my life." Babahan said, "This
retired diplomat [Onur Oymen] is citing an era a former commander is
ashamed to speak of as an example."
Babahan also quoted former Foreign Minister and then Police Chief
Ä°hsan Sabri Caglayangil, who confessed: "They strangled the people
of Dersim like mice. They used gas." "This is the incident Oymen has
no guilty conscience about," Babahan added. He also said he found it
hard to grasp why Oymen did not defend teaching about this historical
event, which he considers exemplary, in schools. "Tell them about
the Armenian deportation, about Dersim. … You should do this as
part of CHP publications because those are an important part of your
party’s history."
He said what was done to the people of Dersim at the time was the
exact same thing that Saddam Hussein did in Dujail.
Oymen also spoke after the controversial statement, saying he
did not use any offensive expressions in his speech. "What I was
highlighting was that Ataturk never adopted the policy of talking to
armed terrorist organizations, unlike the Justice and Development Party
[AK Party]." Ä°stanbul Today’s Zaman
Alevis should be accepted as they are, say workshop participants
Participants of the fifth event in a series of seven workshops
organized by the government to evaluate the problems of Turkey’s
Alevi community have unequivocally stated their conviction that the
state should accept members of the Alevi creed as they are, without
trying to change them into something they are not.
The fifth workshop held on Wednesday focused on the representation
of Alevis in the media. Yeni Å~^afak columnist Ali Bayramoglu, who
participated in the workshop, said he believed the workshops could
play a crucial role in recognizing Alevi demands. He said: "It is very
important to see the Alevis and to develop awareness about them for
the improvement of democracy in Turkey. I pointed out three issues
in the workshop. These were the redundancy of forced categorizations
to define Alevis, that it is a mistake to try to make Alevis into
religious people and that the resolution should not be found under
the Religious Affairs Directorate."
A very clear message in that direction came from Etyen Mahcupyan,
editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly and a regular columnist of
Today’s Zaman, who said: "The state should not see Alevism as the
other party but the Alevis themselves. When we talk about laicite,
we always say the problem is that the state is not laic. But none
act in a secular way when we talk about finding a solution. Both
Alevism and the Sunni faith will become individualistic. It will be
seen that religion works that way everywhere in the world. It is not
logical to insist that there should be a single Alevism. It is wrong
to force obligatory religion classes on people. Even if there is a
single Alevi in the world, you cannot stop future generations from
having different preferences."
Oral CalıÅ~_lar, a columnist with the Radikal daily, said: "Both
state agencies and society should accept Alevis the way they define
themselves. We should stop trying to fit Alevis into clothes that we
sew among ourselves. It is wrong and dangerous to try to exploit the
differences among Alevis. The demands vocalized in workshops should
not remain on paper. These demands should be fulfilled and realized."
In the fifth Alevi workshop held on Wednesday, the participants,
including journalists from over 40 media organs, discussed Alevi
representation in the media. Some of the well-known journalists
who participated in the workshop were Bayramoglu, Mahcupyan,
CalıÅ~_lar, Ali Kırca, Ahmet Hakan, Ali Bulac, Can Dundar, Emre
Kongar, Erdal Å~^afak, Ergun Babahan, Ertugrul Ozkök, Fehmi Koru,
Hakan Albayrak, Ä°smail Kucukkaya, Mehmet Ali Birand, Mehmet Barlas,
Mustafa Karaalioglu, NeÅ~_e Duzel, Omer Laciner, Taha Akyol, Ugur
Dundar and Yigit Bulut.
Participants have also stated their hope that the workshops will
contribute greatly to solving the problems of Alevis.