PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

EVOLUTION OF THE KEMALİST DOCTRINE,FROM A GREEK A STANDPOINTConstantine D. ZEPOS*I would like first to thank the Dean of the faculty of Political Scienceof the Ankara University Professor Dr. Celal Göle for the honour of hisinvitation to me to participate at this international Conference. Thepresent occasion is indeed unique. It combines oportunities to pay tributeand appraise the historic role of Kemal Atatürk in the formation of modernTurkey, with the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the establishmentof the Turkish Republic.Thanks to eminent historians and experts on Turkish history whoparticipate at this conference, we shall look vvith a renevved interest uponthe daunting events centerring around the year 1923. Events vvhich fashionedthe course of a nevv Turkey, under a leadership vvhose political imprintis strongly felt to the present times. My ovvn contribution does notaspire to be a breakthrough in historical research. It is only guided by anavvareness of how closely vvere interlocked developments in Greece andTurkey at that time. Also by a concern of how shall develop Greek-Turkish relations at the davvn of the 3rd millennium, the nevv era whichshould open nevv horizons of peace, humanity and vvelfare.Regarding the first point, I presume you vvould agree that the establishmentof the Turkish Republic is correlated to a great extent to Greeceitself, not necessarily vvith the events vvhich led to the outbreak of vvar in1912, the first Balkan vvar, but rather vvith the fate of that part of Hellenismwhich for two and a half millennia vvas deeply rooted in Anatolia andThrace. These territories, Kemal Atatürk determined, vvould constitute theseat of the sovereign Turkish people, designating incidentally the nevvvvestvvard borders of Turkey.Approaching the main theme of this conference, I shall seek to dravvas best as I can a general comparative evaluation över the events underrevievv, an approach vvhich as I have just indicated, may help to shed in aRetired Ambassador, Athens.559