Türk or Türkiyeli? The reform of Turkey's minority legislation and the rediscovery of Ottomanism

Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 43, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 423-438

  Grigoriadis, Ioannis N ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ETHNIC MINORITY; LEGISLATION; OTTOMAN EMPIRE; REFORM PROCESS;

EURASIA; TURKEY;

EID: 34247265940     PISSN: 00263206     EISSN: 17437881     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00263200701246116     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. Ç. Keyder, 'The Consequences of the Exchange of Populations for Turkey', in R. Hirschon (ed.), Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1923 Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2003), p.43.
2. A. Yildiz, Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyebilene (İstanbul: İletişim, 2001), pp.286-90.
3. A. Aktar, Varlik Vergisi ve 'Türkleş tirme' Politikalari (İstanbul: İletişim, 2000), pp.131-4.
4. The Copenhagen Criteria for EU membership, adopted at the Copenhagen EU Summit in June 1993, required the following conditions from prospective EU member states:. The stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities. The existence of a functioning market economy, as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the European Union. The ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. See D. Dinan, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration (Boulder, CO and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999), p.191.
5. At the Helsinki Summit of Dec. 1999, Turkey was awarded the status of a candidate for EU membership. Apart from affirming the European identity of Turkey for the first time, this decision also marked a historic shift in Greece's opposition to the prospect of Turkey's EU membership and became a catalyst in the process of Greek-Turkish rapprochement.
6. For the status of constitutional protection of minority rights in Turkey, see D. Kurban, 'Confronting Equality: The Need for Constitutional Protection of Minorities on Turkey's Path to the European Union', Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Vol.35, No.1 (2003).
7. Türk Büydsu k Millet Meclisi (TBMM), Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasasinin Bazi Maddelerinin Deǧiş tirilmesi Hakkinda Kanun (4709/2001).
8. Commission of the European Communities, 2002 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession [SEC(2002) 1412] (Brussels: European Union, 2002), p.41.
9. Commission of the European Communities, 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession [SEC(2004) 1201] (Brussels: European Union, 2004), p.24.
10. The Treaty of Lausanne, signed on 24 July 1923, sealed the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Republic of Turkey.
11. Commission of the European Communities, 2001 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession [SEC(2001) 1756] (Brussels: European Union, 2001), p.29.
12. See Commission of the European Communities, 2003 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession (Brussels: European Union, 2003), p.23. Turkey reserved the right to interpret and apply the provisions of Article 27 of the Covenant, which referred to minority rights, 'in accordance with the related provisions and rules of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and the Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923 and its Appendices'.
13. Commission of the European Communities, 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession, p.38.
14. B. Oran, Türkiye'de Azinliklar: Kavramlar, Lozan, Iç Mevzuat, Içtihat, Uygulama (̇ Istanbul: TESEV Yayinlari, 2004), p.102.
15. A. Bürosu, 'Erken Kalkan Kürtçe Dinler', Radikal, 5 June 2004.
16. It is interesting to note that the Laz language was excluded from the list, while both dialects of Turkey's Kurdish population were included. The broadcasting of songs in Laz in state media remained banned. See İ. Saymaz, 'Laz Fikrasi Gibi Olay', Radikal, 28 March 2005.
17. E. Atar, 'Diyarbakir Açiliminin İlk Somut Adim Atildi: Kürtçe TV'nin Yolu Açiliyor', Sabah, 17 Aug. 2005.
18. Commission of the European Communities [SEC(2005) 1426] (Brussels: European Union, 2005), p.27.
19. Ibid., p.76.
20. Doǧan Haber Ajansi (DHA), 'Ö zeller Kü rtç e Yayina Baş ladi', Radikal, 24 March 2006.
21. Oran, Türkiye'de Azinliklar, p.113, İ. Saymaz, 'Boş naklar Sitemkâ r', Radikal, 8 June 2004.
22. Oran, Türkiye'de Azinliklar, p.104.
23. Commission of the European Communities, 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession, p.49.
24. Ibid., p.37.
25. Ibid., p.38.
26. This was especially the case for the Greek minority, as Greece hosted its own Muslim/Turkish minority, whose rights were also often violated.
27. Commission of the European Communities, 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession, p.43.
28. Ibid., pp.30-1.
29. A. Keskin, 'Cesur Azinliik Raporu', Radikal, 17 Oct. 2004.
30. Azinlik Haklari ve Kültürel Haklar Çaliş ma Grubu, 'Rapor', Birikim, No.188 (2004), p.26.
31. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 'Treaty of Peace with Turkey Signed at Lausanne, July 24, 1923', The Treaties of Peace 1919-1923 (New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1924).
32. National monism is understood here as the identification of the Turkish nation and state.
33. Azinlik Haklari ve Kültürel Haklar Çaliş ma Grubu, 'Rapor', pp.26-9.
34. Ibid., p.29.
35. Ibid., pp.29-30.
36. Reaction also took violent forms. One of the members of 'Working Group on Minority and Cultural Rights' grabbed a copy of the report during a press conference and tore it into pieces. See A. Bürosu, 'Yokuş: Azinlik Raporunu Bin Kere Yirtarim', Hürriyet, 2 Nov. 2004.
37. For a response of the President of the Working Group, see I.Ö. Kaboǧlu, 'AB Var, Biz Dü ş ü nmeyelim', Radikal, 3 Nov. 2004.
38. G. Aktan, 'AB ve Azinliklar', Radikal, 26 Oct. 2004.
39. S. Somuncuoǧlu, 'Geciken Azinlik Tartiş masi', Radikal, 21 Oct. 2004.
40. A. Bürosu, "Türk Ulusu Bir Ü stkimliktir", Radikal, 29 Oct. 2004.
41. M. Yetkin, 'Cumhurbaşkani ve Genelkurmay Başkani'nin Mesajlari', Radikal, 29 Oct. 2004.
42. ̇I. Bü rosu, 'Tolon'dan Azinlik Ççikiş i', Milliyet, 24 Nov. 2004.
43. B. Oran, "Azinlik Haklari ve Kültürel Haklar Raporu'nun Bütün Öyküsü", Birikim, No.188 (2004), p.22.
44. Ibid., p.23.
45. See Ibid., pp.24-5. This argument was rebutted by columnists who argued that Atatürk used both terms, so he should not be quoted in the debate.
46. See T. Akyol, 'Atatürk Türk Devleti Demedi!!!', Milliyet, 2 Nov. 2004.
47. T. Alkan, 'Kim Hakiki Türk'tür?', Radikal, 19 Oct. 2004.
48. A. Keref, "Asli Unsurlar' ve 'Diǧerleri", Radikal İki, 31 Oct. 2004.
49. A. Insel, 'Ayricalikli Ortaklik ve Iç imizdeki Öteki', Radikal İki, 12 Dec. 2004.
50. A.D. Smith, The Ethnic Origins of Nations (Oxford and Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1988), p.135.
51. A.D. Smith, National Identity (London: Penguin, 1991), pp.82-3,
52. cited in U. Özkirimli, Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p.182.
53. W. Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp.13-15.
54. S.A. Somel, 'Osmanli Reform Çaǧinda Osmanlicilik Dü ş üncesi (1839-1913)', in M.Ö. Alkan (ed.), Cumhuriyet'e Devreden Düşünce Mirasi: Tanzimat ve Meş rutiyet'in Birikimi (İstanbul: İletişim, 2001), p.88.
55. D. Kushner, The Rise of Turkish Nationalism 1876-1908 (London: Frank Cass, 1977), pp.3-4.
56. E. Rossi, 'Dall' Impero Ottomano alla Repubblica di Turchia: Origine e Sviluppi del Nazionalismo Turco sotto l' Aspetto Politico-Culturale', OM, Vol.XXIII (1943), p.367,
57. cited in B. Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey (Oxford, London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1968), pp.339-40.
58. Somel, 'Osmanli Reform Ç aǧinda Osmanlicilik Dü ş üncesi (1839-1913)', p.91.
59. C.V. Findley, 'The Acid Test of Ottomanism: The Acceptance of Non-Muslims in the Late Ottoman Bureaucracy', in B. Braude and B. Lewis (eds.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society (New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1982), p.365.
60. Somel, 'Osmanli Reform Ç aǧinda Osmanlicilik Dü ş üncesi (1839-1913)', pp.105-6.
61. H.T. Us, Meclis-i Mebusan, 1293:1877 (İstanbul: Zabit Ceridesi, 1940), pp.322-6,
62. cited in E.Z. Karal, 'Non-Muslim Representatives in the First Constitutional Assembly, 1876-1877', in Braude and Lewis (eds.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire, p.398.
63. A.S. Levend, Şemseddin Sâmi (Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, 1969), pp.120-21;
64. Somel, 'Osmanli Reform Ç aǧinda Osmanlicvlik Dü ş üncesi (1839-1913)', p.107.
65. Yildiz, Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyebilene, p.63.
66. Y. Akçura, Ü ç Tarz-i Siyaset (Ankara: Tü rk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1976), pp.19-36.
67. Somel, 'Osmanli Reform Ç aǧinda Osmanlicilik Dü ş üncesi (1839-1913)', pp.108-9.
68. E.J. Zürcher, Turkey: A Modern History (London and New York: I.B. Tauris & Co., 1998), p.133.
69. C. Ç andar, 'Eskiden 'Türkiyelilik' mi Vardi', Tercüman, 24 Oct. 2004.
70. İ.Ö. Kaboǧlu, 'Cumhuriyetimiz Tek Soya Indirgenemez',
71. interview with Derya Sazak, Milliyet, 1 Nov. 2004.
72. Azinlik Haklari ve Kültürel Haklar Çalişma Grubu, 'Rapor', p.27.
73. N. Tocci, 'Europeanization in Turkey: Trigger or Anchor for Reform?', South European Society and Politics, Vol.10, No.1 (2005), pp.79-82.