CREATOR OF MODERN TURKEY

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

CREATOR OF MODERN TURKEY

A Dictator Who Says "Please."

PRESIDENT MUSTAPHA ATATURK.

(By EMIL LENGYEL, author of "Millions of Dictators,*' "Hitler," "The Cauldron Boils,*' etc.) .

TURKEY'S one-man government, the. reformer-phenomenon of the Near and Middle East-—President Mustapha Kemal Ataturk—startled the diplomatic world the other day by asking the League of Nations and the interested Powers for a» conference to decide whether his country should not again be given the right to arm and fortify the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which were demilitarised by the Treaty of Lausanne. ,

"How delightfully original!" the statesmen of Europe must have thought —for they were still smarting under Hitler's unilateral revision of the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. In their delight at the thought that at least one country seemed to take international covenants seriously, they informed President Ataturk in words dripping with honey that there were no obstacles in the way of such a conference. "Unoflieial observers," echoing the thoughts of their masters, intimated that in view of the exemplarly behaviour of the Turkish dictator and strong man, the straits of the Near East would soon be rearmed.

Most interesting among these dispatches was the one sent from the Bvzantine buildings of the Kremlin. The Soviet assured President Ataturk that it was wholeheartedly behind the plan. Few people appreciated the overwhelming significance of this move. They did not realise that it meant an end to an old feud which in the last two centuries has involved the East and West in periodical massacres. Instead of being hereditary enemies, Russia and Turkey are now the best of friends, brought closer by treaties of non-aggression and friendship and numerous trade pacts. This change has been brought about partly by the new policy of Russia and partly by the revolutionary innovations of President Ataturk. Only Dictator Who looks His Part. Who is this man who has thus wrought such havoc with a murderous heritage and is so sure of his success that he can afford to be conciliatory? He is probably the only dictator to-day who looks his part. People who see him for the first time in public are struck by his appearance. He looks like a real Mephistopheles, gazing darkly into the secrets of time. His impenetrable dark eyes are set deep, hidden by baffling shadows. His fleshy nose curls toward the narrow lips, which are traditionally symbolic of determination. ! Mustaplia Kemal Ataturk likes to be elegantly dressed, and usually wears an expensive jewel in his tie. Although he is 56, his movements are lithe. Contrary to Oriental custom, he seldom uses his hands when speaking, except when he forgets himself. His voice is a strong basso, which turns into a metallic baritone when he wants to be particularly friendly—which is seldom. Hie scowling mask may, however, fall with bewildering rapidity, and then his unfathomable eyes light up with a mischievous sparkle—the smile of a young boy. His eyes receive assistance from laughing lips and you have before you a man of the world who just dving to have a good time and is an expert in getting it. He is not only president and dictator; lie is the creator of modern Turkey. More than any of the other dictators, he bears the responsibility for what his country is to-day. He" not only led a great movement, but accomplished the unusual feat of transforming one of the most backward countries of the Near East into a standard-bearer of civilisation. More khan a great national leader, lie is the most potent force in the entire Islamic world. If the East is astir with new beginnings, making every effort to bid farewell to its old self and get rid of the filth and picturesque beggary of the past, Mustaplia Kemal Ataturk is its inspiration. Strategist of the Gang. Kemal and Ataturk are later additions to his name, which in his childhood was Mustaplia. No memorial slab marks the place where he was born in Saloniki, then in Turkey and now part of Greece. The old Greek neighbour of Mustaplia's parents, whom I met last summer, described their home as a simple frame house, coated with lime. It was not far from the Seven Towers, the famous Heptapyrgion, a landmark for centuries. The house burned during the conflagration that devastated tlie city in the World War.

The old neighbour remembered Mustaplia as a naughty boy who shared command over a gang of children with a famous child character of that section: Omar the One-Eyed, son of Yusuf the Tailor. Mustaplia .seems to have been the strategist of the gang. Mustaplia's father was a subordinate Customs official, and later went into the timber trade. He died early and his widow was left sufficient means to educate their child. According to the neighbour, Mustaplia's mother was a religious woman, anxious to have her son become a hodja—a rel.'gious teacher; but the son showed more interest in the art of war. Pie did not like his Arabic teacher's strict following of the Prophet's advice not to spare the rod, so he turned his back 011 school He spent a few days in a sort of truants' reform institution—his first taste of life behind the bars. His First Distinctive Surname. Reconciled to the inevitable, he went back to school, and liked his new teacher, who soon discovered the unusual abilities of the boy. In a few months he was hailed as a child prodigy,

and obtained his first distinctive surname from his teacher, who called him "Kemal" —perfection. Mustaplia Kemal was in his early twenties when young Turkey began to stir, incensed by the despotism of Slll- [ tan Abu'l-Hamid and seeking contact [ with the progressive spirit of the West. 1 Mustaplia Kemal joined the Union and 1 Progress Society, better known as Young Turk's. He also entered the Military Academy at Monastir, .and became a captain in the Turkish army. But his activities with the Young Turks aroused the suspicion of the Sultan's police, and he began his career of hide and seek with gaol. He was charged with being one of the guiding spirits of the Vatan, a secret society. No direct evidence could be found against l.im, yet Mustaplia was banished to Syria, where he found an excellent field of operations for his anti- • Sultan propaganda. Once more the secret agents got 011 his trail, and he decided to extend his field of activity to Palestine. Jaffa saw him haranguing wide-mouthed Arabs, and from there he went to Cairo. Egypt was also becoming too hot for him; he took a boat at Alexandria and embarked for his native Saloniki. Meanwhile, the police were looking for him everywhere except in his birthplace. The Government of Turkey at that time was inefficient—and while one official issued a warrant for his arrest another promoted him to a higher position. Thus he found himself an army major in good standing, accused of fomenting revolution and anarchy. Finally the general dissatisfaction resulted in the events of 1908, when Young Turkey took the reins. Turkish Leader at Gallipoli. But Mustaplia Kemal was not the man to be impressed by sham reforms, and now he led a one-man revolt against his former friends-in-arms. Once again he was in danger of spending his nights in prison, and was saved only by official incompetence. Instead of being gaoled, lie was appointed military attache to France, in the retinue of Ambassador Ali Riza. / Life in Paris was pleasant, but fame, beckoned, to the young man from across the Mediterranean. He could obtain no leave of absence from his post—so he simply left it, and enrolled as a private in the Turkish army, fighting the Italians in Tripoli. A little later adventure and glory called from the Balkans, where Kemal's country was engaged in war. Meanwhile the World War was getting ready to out-thunder these secondary mass-massacres. A year later Mustaplia Kemal was in command of the Turkish forces at the Dardanelles, just when the British were preparing for their attempt to force their way through the straits. To his soldiers Mustaplia Kemal appeared to be the very devil, unafraid of death, exposing himself to danger. One day he received a wound that would have been mortal if a watch had not deflected the bullet. For the first and last time in the World War the British had to admit defeat: they broke camp by, stealth, leaving young Mustaplia Kemal the victor in one of the most spectacular battles of the war. The Dardanelles were saved, but Tur key was not. She was drawn into the abyss by the defeat of her allies and by'.

the victories of the British on her own southern and eastern fronts. The peace which the Allies dictated at Paris was not a peace, but a national disaster. Constatinople, Smyrna and Eastern Thrace were to be taken from Turkey, thus elbowing her out of Europe. The Sultan was the prisoner of the Allies, and Turkey was to fatalistic to object. It seemed indeed as if the "Sick Man of Europe," as Turkey had been called, had died. Over the belongings of the dead man the former Allies were conducting a spoils contest.

What had happened to Mustaplia Kemal Pasha? He had been shunted into an out-of-the-way region as inspector of the ninth army corps in northwestern Anatolia. That bleak country was to be his burial place. Instead of that, it became the birthplace of his world-wide fame, and from there he aroused the sleepy-eyed Turks, making them the heroes of one of the most remarkable national awakenings, ftp took their lead and marched against Smyrna. The Greeks were crowded into the sea, an'l the army of Mustaplia Kemal surged onward, invincible, a world wonder —and the great powers promptly declared that they were willing to nesotiate. Constantinople. Smyrna and Eastern Thrace were turned back to the Turks, the Sultan was deposed, and Mustaplia Kemal took the helm. A country, delirious with joy. hailed him as the "Gazi" —victor. This was the second surname his Qiateful countrymen conferred upon him. The real work was now to begin. The Gazi set to work. Everything that reminded of the discredited past was to bo discarded. With ruthless energy the entire field of national life was raked over. Constantinople had to cede its place as the capital to Ankara, a small Anatolian town, which was purely Turkish and not at the mercy of foreign warships. The Father of His Country. New life began to sti3- on the Anatolian plains and mountains. A country in which So per cent of the population was illiterate had to be made into a civilised nation. Youth was given its rights to study and live a worthier life. The grip of Islam on the nation was to lio loosened with the separation of Church and State. The primitive law of the Koran gave place to a Turkish adaptation of the Swiss civil code. Polygamy was outlawed, and women received nearly equal rights with men. Women were made to take off their >eils; men were forbidden to wear the fez and the turban.^ Turkey, the scourge of the world only a century ago, took the lead in pacifying the Balkans. For the first time in history, Turkey was not feared or scorned, but respected. When Mustaplia Kemal Pasha made his countrymen assume surnames instead of "first" names, ho was asked by the National Assembly to assume the name of "Ataturk"—the father of his country. This was the third name that has been conferred upon him. Whither is President Ataturk taking his nation? The answef may be found by looking at Ankara, a few years ago a deserted country place, which now is being made into one of the most up-to-date capitals. Its broad streets would do honour to Paris. The main arteries are hemmed in by impressive public buildings. The President has worked out a plan for industrialising his nation. In a few years he expects it to have numerous thriving industries. Agricultural methods are being improved at a rapid rate. The average Turk has been roused out of his pre-war lethargy; to-day he realises that ha has something to fight for. President Ataturk is hailed as a. man who has deserved well of his fatherland.