Turkey at 100: What will become of Ataturk’s legacy?

ELMAS TOPCU

For weeks, secular Turks had been wondering whether the conservative Islamic government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish republic on October 29. Until just a few days ago, there was no official program planned. Foreign diplomats were also rumored to be asking one another if anyone had received an invitation.

Finally, on October 20, Erdogan’s communications department announced that there would be a series of events — in which the Erdogan era would take center stage. The news confirmed secular fears that Erdogan is trying to downplay the legacy of founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and, in his place, create a cult of Erdogan as the leader of an Islamist country.

The “Turkish Century” was the campaign slogan with which Erdogan won the elections again in May with his Justice and Development Party (AKP), securing his power for another five years. Already in government for more than 20 years, he now wants to go down in history as the statesman who led the republic into its second century.

Beate Apelt, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom’s Turkish office, sees a lot of symbolism in the run-up to the anniversary that aims to make Erdogan equally significant to Ataturk. Apart from the using the phrase “Turkish century,” large portraits of the two state leaders are being exhibited side by side. The suggestion being that Ataturk may have been the initiator, but Erdogan is the clincher of a great century project, Apelt said.

She has observed growing resentment among Turks that the centennial anniversary of their country not only lacks the suitable pomp, but that many of the events are being associated with religious elements. This is “certainly not in Ataturk’s spirit either,” she said, explaining that he introduced a clear separation of religion and state. In the name of secularism he also abolished religious brotherhoods and the caliphate — one reason why Islamists still harbor bitterness toward him today.

Erdogan, by contrast, has supported such religious groups since he came to power, granting them many privileges. He also never speaks Ataturk’s full name. Instead, it’s “veteran Mustafa Kemal.” Perhaps that’s because “Ataturk” means “forefather of the Turks,” a concept that Erdogan is widely seen to reject. Ataturk’s liberal private life, including relationships with several women and alcohol consumption, are also despised in AKP circles.

Ataturk dreamed of a Westernised, modern and secular republic, ordering a number of major reforms in just a few years. He had the Arabic alphabet exchanged for the Latin alphabet, adopted Western codes of law and introduced women’s suffrage. A new hat law saw people abandon Ottoman religious headgear such as the fez or turban in favor of styles from London, Berlin and Paris.

A long-term goal was also to forge a Turkish nation from the ruins of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. This has only been partially fulfilled, as major disputes continue among minorities such as the Armenians, Alevis and Kurds. The armed conflict with the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) alone has killed nearly 40,000 people since 1984.

“Turkey is an important player especially in the space between Europe and the Middle East,” said Beate Apelt of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, an organization close to Germany’s business-friendly Free Democratic Party.