Letter from the Turkish Embassy in Athens to E. Venizelos forwarding M. Kemal"s congratulations on the restoration of his health.
1928 September 18 SOURCE
Mavi Boncuk |
Three page nomination letter [1] by Eleftherios K. Venizelos[2] in French for the conferral of the Nobel Peace Prize upon Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) in English | Turkish and Greek[3].
According to The Nobel Archives Mustafa Kemal Pasha was on the short list, but no evaluation was written. It was supposed to be added later, but no evaluation on him was added. In 1934 Mustafa Kemal was given the name Atatürk (Father of the Turks) by the Turkish national assembly.
(Translation from French into English by Stella Colston)
Athens, January 12, 1934
Mister President,
For almost seven centuries the whole of the Near East and a large part of Central Europe was a theatre for bloody wars. The main cause of this was the Ottoman Empire and the absolutist regime of the Sultans.
The subjugation of Christian peoples, the religious wars of the Cross against the Crescent which inevitably followed, and the successive resurgences of all the peoples who aspired to their liberation, created a situation which remained a permanent source of danger as long as the Ottoman Empire retained the imprint of the Sultans.
The foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1922, when the national movement of Moustafa Kemal Pasha triumphed over its adversaries, put a definitive end to that state of instability and intolerance.
Indeed, very rarely has such a radical change been achieved in so short a time in the life of a nation.
An empire in decline, living under a theocratic regime where the notions of law and religion intermingled, was turned into a modern nation state, full of vigour and life.
Through the impetus given by the great reformer Moustafa Kemal Pasha, the absolutist regime of the Sultans was abolished, and the state became truly secular. The whole nation embraced progress, rightly ambitious to be present at the forefront of civilized peoples.
But the consolidation of peace went hand in hand with all the internal reforms which gave the new, predominantly ethnic Turkish state the image it has nowadays. Indeed, Turkey did not hesitate to accept legally the loss of provinces inhabited by other nationalities and, satisfied with the ethnic and political borders defined by the treaties, she became a true pillar for peace in the Near East.
We, the Greeks, who had been driven for centuries of bloody battles into continuous confrontation with Turkey, were the first to feel the effects of the deep change which occurred in that country, the successor of the old Ottoman Empire.
Having discerned, very soon after the catastrophe in Asia Minor, the opportunity of an understanding with reborn Turkey - which came out of the war as a national state-we offered her our hand which she took with sincerity.
This rapprochement, which shows that even peoples divided by the most serious differences can come closer to each other when they become filled with the sincere desire for peace, was beneficial both for the two countries involved and for keeping the peace in the Near East.
The man to whom this invaluable contribution to the cause of peace is due is, of course, the President of the Turkish Republic, Moustafa Kemal Pasha.
Thus, I have the honour, as the leader of the Hellenic Government in 1930, when the signature of the Greek-Turkish pact marked a new era in the march of the Near East towards peace, to propose Moustafa Kemal Pasha as a candidate for the distinguished honour of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yours sincerely,
......................................................
[1]
12 Ocak 1934, Atina
Sayın Başkan,
Yaklaşık yedi asır boyunca Yakın Doğu'nun tamámı ve Orta Avrupa'nın büyük kısmı kanlı savaşlara sahne oldu. Bunun temel sebebi Osmaİmparatorluğu ve onun sultanlarının mutlákiyetçi yönetim sistemiydi.
Hıristiyan halklara boyun eğdirilmesini kaçınılmaz olarak takip eden Haç'ın Hilâl'e karşı díní savaşları ve ardından da özgürlüklerine düşkün bütün halkların başarılı diriliş hareketleri, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu sultanların etkisinde kaldığı sürece dáimá devam eden bir tehlike ortamıydı.
Mustafa Kemal Paşa'nın milli hareketinin rakiplerine galip gelmesiyle 1922'de kurulan Türkiye Cumhuriyeti bu belirsizlik ve hoşgörüsüzlük devletine kesin bir son verdi.
Hakikaten, bir milletin hayatında bu kadar kısa zamanda bu kadar köklü bir değişiklik nadiren gerçekleştirilebilmiştir.
Hukuk ve dinin birbirine karıştığı dini bir rejim altında yaşayan, çöküş halindeki bir imparatorluk tamamen hayat ve canlılık dolu modern bir ulus devlete dönüştürüldü.
Büyük reformcu Mustafa Kemal Paşa'nın sağladığı hızla, sultanların mutlakiyetçi rejimi sona erdirildi ve devlet tamamen laik oldu. Haklı olarak medeni milletlerin en ön saflarında yer almaya büyük istek duyan bütün millet gelişmeleri benimsedi.
Fakat, barışın sağlamlaştırılması etnik Türk kimliğinin baskın olduğu devletin şu günlerdeki haline dönüşmesine yol açan inkılaplarla birlikte yürütüldü. Hakikaten, Türkiye diğer milletlerin meskun olduğu illerini hukuka uygun bir şekilde kaybetmiş olmayı kabullenmede tereddüt etmedi ve anlaşmalarla belirlenen siyasi ve etnik sınırlardan razı olup Yakın Doğu için gerçek bir barış dayanağı haline geldi.
Türkiye'yle sürekli devam eden anlaşmazlıkların neticesinde asırlarca kanlı savaşlara sürüklenmiş olan biz Yunanlar, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun halefi olan bu ülkede gerçekleşen derin değişikliğin etkilerini ilk hissedenler olduk.
Küçük Asya Felaketi'nden hemen sonra, savaştan bir ulus devlet olarak çıkmış olan yeniden doğan Türkiye'yi anlama fırsatını farkederek ona, elimizi uzattık ve o da samimiyetle karşılık verdi.
Samimi barış arzusuyla dolu olduklarında en derin farklılıklara sahip halkların bile tekrar yakınlaşabileceklerini gösteren bu yeniden birbirimize yakınlaşma faaliyeti hem iki ülke için hem de Yakın Doğu'daki barışı sürdürmek için faydalı oldu.
Barışı tesis etmek için yapılan bu paha biçilmez katkıyı gerçekleştiren kişi elbette Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'nin cumhurbaşkanı Mustafa Kemal Paşa'dır.
Bu yüzden, 1930 Yunanistan Hükümeti'nin lideri olarak, Yunan-Türk anlaşmasının imzalanmasının Yakın Doğu'nun barışa doğru yürüyüşünde yeni bir dönemi başlattığı şu zamanda, Mustafa Kemal Paşa'nın Nobel Barış Ödülü'ne sahip olmanın ayırt edici itibarıyla ödüllendirilmesini teklif etmekten onur duyarım.
Saygılarımla,
E. K. Venizelos
E. K. Venizelos
......................................................
(Translation from French into Greek by Penny Pouliou)
Αθήνα, 12 Ιανουαρίου 1934
Κύριε Πρόεδρε,
Για περίπου επτά αιώνες ολόκληρη η Μέση Ανατολή και μεγάλο τμήμα της Κεντρικής Ευρώπης αποτέλεσαν θέατρο αιματηρών πολέμων. Κύρια αιτία γι αυτούς ήταν η Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία και το απολυταρχικό καθεστώς των Σουλτάνων.
Η υποδούλωση χριστιανικών λαών, οι θρησκευτικοί πόλεμοι του Σταυρού εναντίον της Ημισελήνου που μοιραία επακολούθησαν και οι διαδοχικές εξεγέρσεις όλων αυτών των λαών που προσέβλεπαν στην απελευθέρωσή τους δημιουργούσαν μια κατάσταση πραγμάτων που θα παρέμενε μόνιμη πηγή κινδύνων όσο η Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία διατηρούσε τα ‘ίχνη που της είχαν αφήσει οι Σουλτάνοι.
Η εγκαθίδρυση της Τουρκικής Δημοκρατίας το 1922, όταν το εθνικό κίνημα του Μουσταφά Κεμάλ Πασά θριάμβευσε επί των αντιπάλων του, έθεσε οριστικά τέλος σ' αυτή την κατάσταση αστάθειας και μισαλλοδοξίας.
Πράγματι, σπάνια στη ζωή ενός έθνους πραγματοποιήθηκε σε τόσο λίγο χρόνο μια αλλαγή τόσο ριζική.
Μια παρακμάζουσα αυτοκρατορία που ζούσε υπό θεοκρατικό καθεστώς στο οποίο οι έννοιες του δικαίου και της θρησκείας συγχέονταν μετατράπηκε σ`ένα εθνικό και σύγχρονο κράτος, γεμάτο ενέργεια και ζωή.
Με την ώθηση του μεγάλου μεταρρυθμιστή Μουσταφά Κεμάλ το απολυταρχικό καθεστώς των Σουλτάνων καταλύθηκε και το κράτος κατέστη αληθινά κοσμικό. Το έθνος ολόκληρο στράφηκε προς την πρόοδο, με την θεμιτή φιλοδοξία να ενταχθεί στην πρωτοπορία των πολιτισμένων λαών.
Όμως το κίνημα για την εδραίωση της ειρήνης προχώρησε από κοινού με όλες εκείνες τις εσωτερικές μεταρρυθμίσεις που προσέδωσαν στο νέο κυρίως εθνικό κράτος της Τουρκίας τη σημερινή του μορφή. Πράγματι η Τουρκία δεν δίστασε να αποδεχθεί ειλικρινά την απώλεια επαρχιών όπου κατοικούσαν
άλλες εθνότητες και, ικανοποιημένη πραγματικά με τα εθνικά και πολιτικά της σύνορα όπως καθορίστηκαν από τις Συνθήκες, έγινε αληθινός στυλοβάτης της ειρήνης στην Εγγύς Ανατολή.
Είμαστε εμείς οι Έλληνες που αιματηροί αγώνες αιώνων μας είχαν φέρει σε κατάσταση διαρκούς ανταγωνισμού με την Τουρκία οι πρώτοι που είχαμε την ευκαιρία να αισθανθούμε τις συνέπειες αυτής της βαθιάς αλλαγής στη χώρα αυτή, διάδοχο της παλιάς Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας.
Από την επόμενη μέρα της Μικρασιατικής καταστροφής, διαβλέποντας την δυνατότητα συνεννόησης με την αναγεννημένη Τουρκία, που προέκυψε από τον πόλεμο ως εθνικό κράτος, της απλώσαμε το χέρι και το δέχτηκε με ειλικρίνεια.
Από αυτήν την προσέγγιση, που μπορεί να χρησιμεύσει ως παράδειγμα για τη δυνατότητα συνεννόησης ακόμη και μεταξύ λαών που τους χώρισαν οι πιο σοβαρές διαφορές, όταν αυτοί διαποτιστούν με την ειλικρινή επιθυμία για ειρήνη, προέκυψαν μόνο καλά, τόσο για τις δύο ενδιαφερόμενες χώρες όσο και για τη διατήρηση της ειρήνης στην Εγγύς Ανατολή.
Ο άνθρωπος στον οποίο οφείλεται αυτή η πολύτιμη συμβολή στην ειρήνη δεν είναι άλλος από τον Πρόεδρο της Τουρκικής Δημοκρατίας Μουσταφά Κεμάλ Πασά.
Έχω λοιπόν την τιμή ως αρχηγός της Ελληνικής Κυβέρνησης το 1930, όταν η υπογραφή του Ελληνοτουρκικού συμφώνου σηματοδότησε μια νέα εποχή στην πορεία της Εγγύς Ανατολής προς την ειρήνη, να υποβάλλω την υποψηφιότητα του Μουσταφά Κεμάλ Πασά για την διακεκριμένη τιμή του βραβείου Νόμπελ για την Ειρήνη.
Με βαθύτατη εκτίμηση
Ε. Κ. Βενιζέλος
[2] Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος)23 August 1864 – 18 March 1936) was an eminent Greek leader of the Greek national liberation movement and a charismatic statesman of the early 20th century remembered for his promotion of liberal-democratic policies. As leader of the Liberal Party, he was elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece, serving from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1933. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece", and is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".His first entry into the international scene was with his significant role in the autonomy of the Cretan State and later in the union of Crete with Greece. Soon, he was invited to Greece to resolve the political deadlock and became the country's Prime Minister. Not only did he initiate constitutional and economic reforms that set the basis for the modernization of Greek society, but also reorganized both army and navy in preparation of future conflicts. Before the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, Venizelos' catalytic role helped gain Greece entrance to the Balkan League, an alliance of the Balkan states against Ottoman Turkey. Through his diplomatic acumen, Greece doubled its area and population with the invasion of Macedonia, Epirus, and the rest of the Aegean islands.
In World War I (1914–1918), he brought Greece on the side of the Allies, further expanding the Greek borders. However, his pro-Allied foreign policy brought him in direct conflict with the monarchy, causing the National Schism. The Schism polarized the population between the royalists and Venizelists and the struggle for power between the two groups afflicted the political and social life of Greece for decades. Following the Allied victory, Venizelos secured new territorial gains, especially in Anatolia, coming close to realizing the Megali Idea. Despite his achievements, Venizelos was defeated in the 1920 General Election, which contributed to the eventual Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22). Venizelos, in self-imposed exile, represented Greece in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, and the agreement of a mutual exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.
In his subsequent periods in office Venizelos succeeded in restoring normal relations with Greece's neighbors and expanded his constitutional and economical reforms. In 1935 Venizelos resurfaced from retirement to support a military coup. Its failure severely weakened the Second Hellenic Republic, the republic he had created.
[3] The original 3-page, double-spaced letter bearing Eleftherios Venizelos' signature (and on the first page his handwritten date, "Athenes le 12 Janvier 1934") is at the Norwegian Nobel Institute
Letter from the Turkish Embassy in Athens to E. Venizelos forwarding M. Kemal"s congratulations on the restoration of his health. 1928 September 18 SOURCE
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