Divorcing Wife's "Birthday Present" to Hubby Backfires

türkçe  links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 31 October 2020)

             So thoughtful. Never forgets hubby's b-day.

In Bursa, N.Ö. (46), who is in the process of divorcing her husband

V.P. (46), told a parking lot valet that "I want to leave a birthday 

present for my husband."  N.Ö. gave the valet a tip to open the car

door and left the "gift", which was narcotics (!).  Security cameras 

recorded N.Ö. setting this trap for V.P. and she was taken into 

custody but then released. 

V.P., who owns a moving company, married N.Ö. in 2016 but over

the past year the marriage has gone sour.  N.Ö.'s divorce lawyer 

invited V.P. to meet him at a cafeteria.  However (!), N.Ö. followed

V.P. to the meeting and after he'd gone into the cafeteria she had 

the valet put the "birthday gift" - narcotics and a measuring scale

wrapped in a towel - into V.P.'s jacket pocket in the car.

                                            Birthday boy.

When V.P. returned to his car after the meeting he found the drugs

and thought that the measuring scale might be a listening device.

Thinking his wife had set a trap for him, V.P. turned himself into

the police, who checked the security cameras that fingered N.Ö.

Police determined that N.Ö. was using four separate telephone

lines.  She was taken into custody the day before yesterday and

released on judicial supervision.

V.P. commented that "I found out that she's been involved in lots

of crimes in the past.  I think she figured that with me in prison

she could make more money.  Even the devil wouldn't think of 

what she did."

 

TNT Debt Collection Edition: Brothers and Brothers-in-Law All Tangled Up

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Çağdaş Kocaeli website, 29 October 2020)

Debt collector S.G. & his "persuader". 

The incident occurred at a little after one in the morning on the night

of 25 October on Erdemci Street in the Yavuz Sultan Selim quarter of

Körfez district, Kocaeli.  Barber Abdurrahman Çebi gave his brother 

Evren Çebi, who is a building contractor, land in return for two flats 

in the building Evren bey built.  Abdurrahman bey then moved in but

Evren bey, with a debt of 5 million TL (about $650,000) to his brother-

in-law S.G. and others, disappeared. 

S.G. and his relatives began to threaten Abdurrahman and his family

to have them pay Evren bey's debt and on the night of 25 October,

S.G. sprayed Abdurrahman's home, with his wife and 5 children 

inside, with gunfire, hitting the house with 14 bullets.  Abdurrahman

bey had his family get away from the windows and called the police,

asking them to find his brother Evren bey and punish the attacker.

                   Barber Abdurrahman had a close shave.

Abdurrahman bey explained that "I gave my brother, who's a builder,

land in return for three flats but when I learned he was in debt I gave

him back one of the flats, leaving me with two.  My brother's been

on the lam for a few days because of his debts to his brother-in-law,

who is taking it out on me. S.G. came by, drunk and with a gun in 

his waist, threatening me and saying 'you have a wife and kids.'"

"I went to the police station and gave a statement but a few hours 

later, a little after one in the morning, S.G. came back and sprayed

my house with gunfire.  The police came and collected the empty

shell casings.  But my brother has debts to others, too, and they're

coming to threaten me, as well.  I can't send my kids to the grocery

store or to school!"

Police are looking for S.G.

  

"Governor Con Man" Sought Money for COVID Intubation Devices...(ugh, make that) Hazel Nuts

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 29 October 2020)

                                        Ungoverned hoodwinker.

In July in Adana, police determined that a gang was defrauding citizens

by calling them under the guise of being the "governor".  Technical and

physical surveillance of the suspects began and police overheard 

Oğuzhan Deniz (30), the "governor's chief of staff", telling someone that

"the governor", actually Nevfel Keskin (42), wanted to speak with them.

"Governor" Keskin then asked the called party for money to buy 

intubation devices (as in COVID) (!). 

In total, the "governor" gang bilked 10 businessmen in Adana, Konya,

Malatya, Adıyaman, Yozgat, Burdur and Kırklareli out of 240,000 TL

(about $30,000).  Police were able to block 180,000 of the 240,000, 

but the suspects thought that their account blocking problem stemmed 

from the word "intubation device" in the explanation portion of the

transfer page.  So they changed it to "hazel-nut trade" (!).

Nevertheless, the blockage continued until 24 October when police 

conducted raids in Adana, Kocaeli, Bursa and Sakarya, taking 14 

people, seven of them women, into custody.   All the suspects were

brought to Adana for interrogation.  Gang leader Nevfel Keskin 

confessed to everything but explained that "I make my living as a 

con man." (!)

In addition to Keskin, Oğuzhan Deniz, Hasan Şen (42), Mehmet 

Pehlivan (51), Sibel Sarısoy (36), Pınar Keskinoğlu (36) and Meltem 

Uslu (32)  were jailed and the others were released on judicial 

supervision. 

//END//

'Lightning' Street Psychology From Hitchhiking Rollerskate Lover

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 October 2020)

      Barefoot in the park, ready for those new rollerskates.

Aytaç Şimşek (22) got fed up with city life four years ago and decided 

to hitchhike around Turkey, setting up a tent wherever he went and 

meeting new people.  He covers his expenses by listening to peoples'

troubles. (!)

Şimşek (whose surname means 'lightning' in Turkish) arrived in

Diyarbakır, set up his tent in a park in the  Gaziler neighborhood

and put out his "shingle" the next morning, advertising his services:

"Listening to troubles: 10 TL;  Photo: 5 TL; Chat: free".  

He explained that "I'm touring Turkey by hitchhiking. Diyarbakır

is the 51st city I've visited in four years.  I listen to peoples' troubles

Up to now, no one has made me cry.  I listen to love and economic

problems mostly, but I really want to listen to someone who will 

make me cry.  My goal is to travel the world with my backpack 

on roller skates (!).  I haven't gotten the roller skates yet but I

hope to soon.  I make about 60-70 TL (about $7-8) per day listening

to peoples' troubles.

One of Şimşek's customers, Ömer Kamçı, said that "I had a small

problem and I told him about it.  He showed great interest and it

did me good to tell him.  Rather than talk to a psychiatrist, I talked

to him.  I gave him 10 TL and it was worth it."

 

        Like a bartender - but you don't have to buy a drink.

TNT Road Rage Edition: Stranded Bus Rider Sees Red

türkçe  links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 25 October 2020)

Sort of like the mark of Zorro, only in red.

In Istanbul's Ümraniye district, a woman wanted to board the 14B bus

that plies the Ademyavuz-Kadıköy route at a place where there was

no bus stop.  The driver, Yılmaz Cengiz, declined to take her aboard.

As a result, the enraged woman got into a taxi and pursued the bus,

getting out of the taxi to bang on the bus windows at the third bus 

stop ahead.

    "You think your bus is too good for me??!!"

Fearing for the safety of himself and his passengers, driver Cengiz 

pressed on without opening the bus doors.  The woman, undeterred,

got back into the taxi, quickly bought some red paint at a store (!) 

and found Cengiz's bus at the last-stop bus terminal, where she 

painted the side of the bus in red (!).  Cengiz declared that "we will 

file a complaint with the images we have from this incident!"

Appropriately, the bus route is marked in red.

Oven-baked Hubby "Shot Himself"

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 25 October 2020)

Pre-baked Yılmaz and E.G., in her best "don't mess" 

pose.

In Akkeçili village of Isparta's Senirkent district, E.G. (40), the 

mother of three children, continued to live with Ramazan Yılmaz

(45) even after their divorce.  The night before last, the couple had

an argument, after Yılmaz came home drunk, that resulted in E.G. 

shooting Yılmaz with a hunting rifle and then burning his body in 

an oven. (!)

The incident came to light when the couple's oldest son came to 

the village from Antalya after not hearing from his father.  The 

son alerted the Gendarmerie and Yılmaz's burned body was 

found in the oven, located in the home's garden.  The couple's

other, 16-year-old, son was taken into custody for helping his

mother carry Yılmaz's body from the house to the oven.  

In her statement to the Gendarmerie, E.G. explained that "my

husband came home drunk and we began to argue.  He pointed

the rifle at me.  I grabbed the gun barrel and turned it at the 

moment he pulled the trigger, so he shot himself." (!)  After

an eight-hour interrogation, E.G. was jailed but her 16-year-old

son was released.

"Beat & Release" - Russians Storm Hotel in Antalya (So What?)

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 24 October 2020)

Russian lout, straight out of central casting,

"escorting" Kaplan.

In May, in Antalya, Orhan Kaplan (27) rented a hotel from Russian 

citizen G.A. at Olimpos in Kumlaca district for five months.  But

because of the COVID pandemic, Kaplan didn't earn as much as he

had hoped to in the five months so he asked G.A. to extend their 

rental agreement.  

However (!), G.A. told Kaplan to vacate the hotel immediately.  

Countering, Kaplan said that in light of the guests currently in the

hotel, he wanted to have at least two more weeks to wind up the 

business.  G.A. refused so Kaplan said he would take legal action.

On 21 October, while the hotel's tourists were breakfasting, G.A.

stormed the hotel with 15 other Russians (!), three of whom threw

Kaplan to the floor, cuffed his wrists and ankles and beat him.  

Kaplan's hotel workers Batuhan İlhan and Seyit Akman tried to 

intervene but got the same treatment.  

       The hotel now offers Russian massages.

As for the bewildered hotel guests, the Russians told them to 

vacate the hotel immediately.  Meanwhile, four of the Russians

brought Kaplan to a separate room and beat him for about 30

minutes, demanding that Kaplan sign a promissory note, while

another Russian took 1,200 from the cash register. 

The hotel guests contacted the Gendarmerie, which came to the

hotel and rescued Kaplan.  As for the Russians, they were taken

into the Gendarmerie post for statements and then released (!!!).

Their victims filed complaints against the Russians.

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part IX/FINAL

//Ed. note: The French reached an agreement with the new Turkish

government in December 1921, withdrawing from all lands within

current Turkish borders except for Hatay (Antioch).  The last 

French soldiers left Antep, which had became "Gaziantep" in 

February 1921 by proclamation of the Turkish Grand National 

Assembly, on 25 December 1921.//

 "Today (early 1921) the people of Antep are fighting with great 

heroism, as much or even more than was seen in Maraş.  Those 

cowards who refused to fight the enemy have all slipped away. 

The remaining fighters are living in caves or underground.  

The enemy would have them believe that the 'Kuva-i Milliye' 

(Turkish nationalists) is nowhere to be found but those in Antep 

will fight to the end to preserve Moslem land for Moslems, 

knowing that all the Moslems of Anatolia are supporting them 

spiritually."   

We (Sebilü'r Reşad) asked "What is it the French hope to gain from

this war?  How much land will they seize?"

"As is known, based on the Treaty of Sevres, the French lay claim

to the land from north of Iskenderun to Antep, Urfa and Mardin,

and including Syria.  They plan to occupy that entire area.  In order

to reach Urfa, they must take Antep so today that city is the key.  

For both the French and for us, Antep is vital vis-a-vis Urfa and 

Maraş.  If the French are forced to retreat from Antep they will be

finished."

"This defeat will affect the French status in Adana, as well, because

their access to Baghdad will be eliminated.   The distance between

Antep and the rail line (to Baghdad) is 5-6 hours.  In the event that

the French lose this access, their cause is finished so if the stations at

Kilis and Akçakoyunlu fall into our hands we win.  The Anatolian 

rail line splits at Müslimiye (near Aleppo), with one branch going to

Iraq and the other to Syria.   Müslimiye is in an open area, which

the French cannot hold."

"Once the French pull out of Antep our forces will be free to pursue

them to Osmaniye, Aleppo and even as far away as Beirut.  Therefore,

Antep is extremely important in a strategic sense, making it the focal

point of the war right now.  There are Arab nationalist forces around 

Aleppo, so when our forces are freed up from Antep they could join 

with them to open the way to Syria, making it very difficult for the 

French to remain there."     

The two clergymen from Maraş who have provided this information 

to us (Sebilü'r Reşad) are Koşcuzade Hamdi Efendi, who is the head

of the 'Müdafaa-i Hukuk' (Defense of Rights) cell in Antep, and 

Ceridizade Mehmed Emin, the head of the 'medrese' (theological 

school) in Maraş."   

"We hope that all the clergymen who provide guidance to our nation 

are like them, because the situation for Moslems in Anatolia today is 

a matter of life and death.  If we prevail then all Moslems the world

over will benefit. God forbid we should lose because that will signal

the start of captivity and annihilation for Islam..  Consequently, the 

entire Moslem world is watching us, which is why England is so 

concerned about it.  We will explain this further in coming issues of

Sebilü'r Reşad."

 //END of PART NINE/FINAL//

 

  

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part VIII

 //Ed. note: In Part V of this series, the Adana-based French Chief 

Administrator of the Occupation Zone was misidentified as 

"Etur Bireyemun", based on vocalization of the Ottoman Turkish

text.  The correct name is "Col. Edouard Brémond".

In any event, as the grueling battle for Maraş raged on in January-

February 1920, the French-Armenian  side was led by Lt. Col. 

Robert Normand and the Turkish side by  Kılıç Ali, with the 

Moslems gaining the upper hand.//

"On the 21st day of the battle, we expected a full-scale attack all 

night long but around seven-thirty in the morning we saw that the 

barracks were on fire.  There was silence otherwise.  Our forces

advanced, taking the enemy forces at the American College, and

any others left alive, as prisoners.  The snow and cold were fierce.

The enemy elements in town gave up and surrendered but they 

destroyed their own weapons.  For a week we gave them 

provisions."

"In the course of this 21-day battle, we suffered between 400 and 

500 dead and wounded.  The enemy dead numbered more than 

8,000.  The forces that had taken shelter in the churches and

fortified buildings died in the fires caused by the French shelling.

After the French forces began their retreat, some 500 Armenians

followed them but the French, thinking that they were Moslems,

clashed with them and very few of the Armenians were left alive."

"The enemy retreated to İslahiye but thousands of them died from

the cold along the way.  In any event, we pursued them, taking 

Haruniye, İslahiye and Bahçe and driving them to Osmaniye.  

Then we reached Antep and said to the Moslems there 'we've have

done our duty, driving the enemy this far.  Now it's your turn.' But

they didn't do as we had done, with some of them explaining that

'we don't want to burn down and ruin our town.'   If they had 

acted in unity against the enemy then, the enemy forces in Adana

would not have been sustained."

"Nevertheless, because of this defeat, the enemy was quiet for a while 

but in April the enemy became active in Antep and Osmaniye.  The

mobile forces of the notorious Normand surrounded the city (Antep).

At that time, Kılıç Ali was in the town of Berc and  his detachment, 

together with fighters from Maraş, attacked Normand's forces, forcing

Normand to flee and taking Antep and İslahiye."

"At that point, the French declared an armistice. The 'Kuva-i Milliye' 

(Turkish nationalist) formed regiments and one of their commanders

was Major Hamdi Bey, who joined forces with Kılıç Ali Bey.  Then,

the armistice was dissolved and the war began anew, with our forces

seizing the south side of Antep.  Things were going well."  

"But then Kılıç Ali became a member of the Meclis (Grand National

Assembly) and went to Ankara.  Hamdi Bey took sick and went on 

leave.  Our forces were left as scattered units led by low-ranking 

officers.  The reinforced enemy went on the attack, bringing a "15/5 

cannon" of ours they seized in Aleppo and bombarding Antep.  For 

this reason, the upper floors of homes in Antep were completely 

destroyed.  The populace fought on by themselves against the French 

but ultimately a regular army corps was established.  Right now 

(early 1921), the war continues in the south and west of Antep." 

//END of PART EIGHT//

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part VII

"Based on the situation in the city, the French commander, General 

Quérette, asked for a delegation to negotiate.  So a committee made up 

of the deputy (Ottoman) governor, an engineer, the Gendarmerie

commander, the mayor and two merchants went to see the General,

who threatened them, saying 'I'll burn you all! What are you thinking?!

You are facing the French state!'  Responding, our delegation told him

that 'even if you burn us and ruin us, we will not let you interfere with

our government!  We are all ready to die.  This is not French land, it

is Moslem land and only Moslem rule will prevail here.'"

"Hearing this fierce response from our delegation, the General became

enraged and detained them.  The municipal sergeant came and alerted

everyone that the delegation had been detained, enflaming the 

populace.  Quickly, negotiations ensued between the two sides.  It was 

nine o'clock on Wednesday, 21 October 1920, when two shots rang out, 

which was the pre-arranged signal for the start of our offensive.  

Everyone took their position."

"General Quérette sent the (detained Ottoman) deputy governor to 

counsel us.  Meanwhile, our squad commanders led their men in a 

takeover of all the streets.  Hearing the firing, a force of  30-40 French 

soldiers headed toward the town from their barracks, but when faced 

with our fighters in the Rüstebaiye quarter, named for the daughter of

the late-15th century Dulkadiriye ruler Alaüddevle, they retreated."

"The Armenians and the French took shelter in their churches and 

homes.  Henceforth, Maraş was a battlefield, as the French began to

rain down cannonballs, machine-gun fire and bombs on the city.  For

our part, we set fire to some places in the town so the enemy could 

understand our determination to fight to the finish and leave him

nothing but ruins and graves."  

"We controlled the streets and no one showed any fear of the French 

firing.  The women and children were put in the basements, where 

the women prepared hot food and the elderly distributed it to the 

fighters at the barricades.    Thirteen and fifteen-year-old children 

were left to defend their homes. Everyone was busy with their

individual duty.  Women stranded in houses we planned to burn

were moved.  At times, we burned 15-20 homes at once, together 

with everything inside them."

"As for the enemy, they were burned alive in the places where they

had taken refuge - our fighters maintained control of the streets so

none of the enemy could flee from the burning buildings.  We buried

our martyrs next to their homes.  Everyone expected the worst.

Probably every Moslem would die but so would every enemy. Maraş

would be our grave and theirs, too."

"The battle continued with all its ferocity.  But none of the enemy's

belongings were looted or women's chastity violated.  The gold and 

goods of dead Armenians lay untouched in the streets.  We were 

focused only on the battle and our duty.  The cold, snow and storm

continued unabated.  On the third day of the battle, Kılıç Ali arrived

and took command, as the enemy kept up its firing and bombing,

amazed by the resistance they faced and asking for reinforcements."

 //END of PART SEVEN//

(1

 

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part VI

 //Ed. note: The Moslems in Maraş established telegraphic contact

Mustafa Kemal Paşa (Atatürk), in Sivas at the time, by setting up

a telegraph machine in a village 3 hours north of Maraş.  As a result,

Mustafa Kemal Paşa sent Kılıç Ali with soldiers and machine guns

to aid the Moslems.//

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There were a few days of calm following this incident, although in the

villages minor clashes began to occur.  The French and the Armenians

were getting together and making preparations.  Here and there a few

Moslems were killed.  These incidents signaled that difficult times 

were approaching so we gave urgency to forming our organization."

Maksutlu is directly north of Kahramanmaraş

"At that time, we obtained a copy of the 'Müdafaa-ı Hukuk' (Defense

of Rights) and we found a telegraph machine, which we set up in the

village of Maksutlu, about three hours from Maraş city, and began to

communicate with Mustafa Kemal Paşa in Sivas.  The encouraging 

telegrams we received from Mustafa Kemal Paşa increased our morale

tremendously.  We referred to him as the 'second coming' of 

Salahuddin Eyübi for his efforts to defend Anatolia from the new 

Crusaders."

"Right away, we put men in the field, informing our fellow Moslems 

of  the link to Mustafa Kemal Paşa.  Next, we established contact with 

the organization in Antep that had been formed earlier.  We sent a man to

İslahiye, which the French were holding, and set up a courier system

between villages to keep track of French deployments.  Within five 

or six hours of learning of an enemy military deployment, we were 

able to lay ambushes.  We killed many members of a French 

detachment en route to Maraş and interrupted their deployments."

"Informing Sivas of the situation in Maraş, we asked them to send

cannon and soldiers immediately.  A few days later, Mustafa Kemal

Paşa sent Kılıç Ali with a detachment of soldiers and two machine 

guns to Pazarcık, which is eight hours away from Maraş.  From

Pazarcık, Kılıç Ali sent an ultimatum to the French, who responded

fretfully by sending an 80-man cavalry force to reconnoiter the 

situation.  Along the way, a clash erupted, with the French losing 30

dead and forced to retreat.  It was now certain there  would be a 

battle for Maraş."

"The French were continually adding more forces and the Armenians

were arming themselves.  There were more than 10,000 French soldiers

and at least 10,000 Armenian fighters.  They took up positions in the 

churches and fortified buildings,  laying in cannon and machine guns 

there.  We, too, were provisioning our organization, secretly getting 

about 500 guns of Gendarmerie stocks from the (Ottoman) government.

In total, we armed about 1,500 Moslems."

"The French then moved to seize the (Ottoman) government but we

rebuked them, saying 'No way! If you do such a thing we will rise up

in revolt immediately.  The populace is anxious so the consequence of

any kind of an initiative like that will be solely your responsibility.  

The ink on the assurance you gave us that you would not seize the 

government is not even dry.  What is the meaning of this!'  In 

response, the French said that 'we have a strict order from the Great

Powers to assert control here.'  Countering, we told them that 'we are

serious about this and will not allow you to interfere with the

government.'"

"The situation became quite tense.  We built barricades and 

fortifications in the city and stationed small squads on street corners.

We knew that in an urban fight like this would be, those who first took

possession of the streets would be the victors.  We didn't want to hole

up in our homes and fight defensively from there."

//END of PART SIX//

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part V

 "Five or ten days passed.  The French governor appointed in 

 Adana (by the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration/OETA) 

arrived in Maraş.  A week later a 300-man contingent of (Ottoman)

Gendarmerie troops under the command of Capt. Sıddiki Bey came, 

as well.  These Gendarmerie troops had been lured by excessive 

payments to work in the service of the French, who even had them 

wear French uniforms."  

OETA click here for background.

"Together with this captain, who had been sold to the French, there 

was an interpreter named Vahan and  notables and clergymen from 

Osmaniye that the French had accompany Siddiki Bey.  This group's 

mission was to advise us on French civilization and French justice 

and explain how lovely it was to live under the French yoke."  

"As this delegation entered the city, we ran into them.  The Captain

said a few things but we pretended not to hear him.  Then the 

Armenian interpreter asked us where we were coming from. We said

we were coming from the medrese (theological school) and he invited

us to come to Hayırlak's house to chat."  

"This Hayırak Agop was Maraş's richest Armenian who controlled all 

the markets in the city.  We went to Hayırlık's house, where the 

governor was sitting in a corner and Sıddiki Bey was sitting opposite 

us.  The Osmaniye notables bent their heads, lost in thought."  

"The French governor spoke first, saying 'Look honored clergymen! 

This officer (Sıddiki Bey) is a Turk like you.  Ask him how just the 

French are and he will tell you.  We do not harm any of the people 

who come under our protection.   You may notice that Sıddiki Bey 

has a French insignia on his arm.  Pay it no mind.  We changed it 

from the German one he had been wearing.  If you have any wishes 

or complaints please tell us.  I will pass them along to Etur Bireyemun, 

the Chief Administrator in Adana, who will address them right away.'"

"This foul fellow was trying to seduce us and have us come under the

French yoke of our own volition.  But we told him that 'we have no

relationship with you. We have our own (Ottoman) government and

do not pay attention to any other.'  The governor told us a few more 

fairy tales, as if he was trying to dupe a child.  We saw no need to

respond and departed, feeling sad about the position Sıddiki Bey had

put himself in.  He is currently serving the French in Osmaniye and

they have made him a major, in command of the Gendarmerie in 

Osmaniye.  He had become nothing more than a French servant."

"For about five or ten days the French employed this technique to try to

seduce the populace but they were surprised when none of the Moslems

in the city fell for their ploy.  So they changed tactics and on Friday, 28 

November, they replaced the Ottoman flag atop the fortress with the

French flag.  Seeing this, the Moslem populace became enraged, even

more than they had been.  Lowering our flag was meant to signal the 

end of Ottoman sovereignty and Moslem dominance here."

"Right away, all the Moslems gathered at the main mosque, saying 

that 'since the infidels have lowered our flag, the symbol of Islamic 

dominance, we now have no place to say Friday prayers.'  This 

prompted the 'hatib' (preacher) to come down from the 'minber'

(pulpit), so prayers were not said.  Then, about 3-4,000 Moslems took

the flag from the main mosque, assaulted the fortress with cries of 

'God is great', and planted the flag there.  The 'ezan' (call to prayer)

was read and noon prayers were said at the fortress."

"From the fortress, the Moslem crowd went to the (Ottoman) 

government office, along the way beating up the interpreter Vahan 

who tried to intervene.  This outrage by the Moslem populace 

shocked the French, who then realized that we would risk everything,

come what may.  The Armenians were frightened by it, as well."

//END of PART FIVE//

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part IV

 

"The Moslems' situation was quite delicate.  Measures needed to be 

taken right away so we dropped whatever we were doing and began

to meet secretly in our homes, making plans and preparations for 

our defense.  We took an inventory of our weapons and ammunition

and counted our fighters, forming teams and squads and deciding on

a meeting point if an incident occurred.  The elderly, women and 

children were all given duties.  No one was afraid to die because we 

knew well there was no way we could live under French oppression 

and the Armenians' curse."

"We had no place else to go and the thought of giving up the land 

we'd had for centuries to infidels was abhorrent.  Would it even be 

thinkable for us to be without our minarets and our prayers?  In all

likelihood we would not be able to stand up to the infidel's weapons 

of war but we would take at least ten or twenty of the enemy's lives.

Nor would we leave them a brick upon a brick in Maraş.  We were

prepared to burn the whole town down rather then give it up for free.

The French might take Maraş but all that would be left for them 

would be ashes."

"We said let the French and the Armenians they brought along with 

them from elsewhere sing like owls on the remnants of our homes and 

our graves so they can write the history of the civilization of the 

twentieth century.  So we made our decision and told our women, who

assured us that the women of Maraş were just as fearless of death as the 

men. Together forever in life or in death, in joy or in sadness.  In short, 

every man, woman and child was ready to fight to the death." 

"The Armenians were crazy with joy at seeing the French in Maraş and

became so emboldened that they continually harassed the Moslems, in 

hopes of provoking an incident.  Nevertheless, we maintained our

composure as best we could and ignored their taunts.  But seeing that 

we could not be provoked by their words, on the fourth day after the

French had come to Maraş, an Armenian from Erzurum ripped off the

veil of a Moslem woman coming home from the 'hamam' (Turkish

bath), pressing on a very sensitive subject for all Moslems."

"They said to us 'henceforth this place belongs to the French and the

Armenians.  The veils will come off and all women will show their 

faces!  Whoever keeps her veil on will have it ripped off and shredded!'

Just at that time, though, a pious Moslem named Hacı Aman rushed 

into his house, grabbed his rifle and shot the Armenian in the chest,

shouting 'now you've paid for your transgression!'  The wounded 

Armenian rolled over and died, while this heroic Moslem put his 

rifle on his shoulder and headed out of town."

"The Armenians were shaken by the incident and the French were at a

loss about how to handle it because they still had not settled in 

completely and set up their administration.  The French certainly did

not want a clash to break out and had hoped to avoid a tumultuous 

beginning to their stay in Maraş.  A colonialist power like France, 

with great experience luring Moslem nations into their yoke with

friendly gestures, did not want to resort to violence.  And so the 

incident was brushed aside and the matter closed.

  

//END of PART FOUR//

TNT History Mini-Series: Turkish Resistance to English, French & Armenians in Maraş and Antep (1919-1920)/Part III

 //Ed. note: The French occupation force arrived in Maraş in November

1919 and took over the city from the English.  Meanwhile, Mustafa

Kemal was in Sivas in the aftermath of the Sivas Congress convened

in September that essentially established the formalization of the 

Turkish nationalist movement.  The Moslems in Maraş, however, were 

still very much on their own.// 

"We were able to make some political accommodations like this with 

the English occupation soldiers but then we heard that 'the Engish are 

going and the French are coming!'  This region became a French area

of influence and the occupation we thought was temporary was 

to become permanent.  This news bewildered us all so we gathered

our people together and explained that:"

"' Hey, Moslems! They've given this place to the French for 

permanent occupation and they are on their way here.  You have 

already seen what foreign occupation means.  God has shown you

the horrors of living in the captivity of foreigners.  Now is the time

for action because terrible days are approaching.  If we let the French

settle in it will be impossible to get them to ever leave.  So let us now

decide what we will do and get down to business.'"

"The (local Ottoman) government was weak and helpless but they

nevertheless tried to give us some advice, saying 'what can we do?

This is our fate.  If it has been decided that the French will come here

how can you prevent it?  Let's just see what happens.'  In response,

we protested that 'we won't put our necks in this yoke of captivity.

We will resist and if we succeed, wonderful.  If we don't, the French

can build their empire on top of our graves.'"

"We wrote a strongly-worded protest note and sent it to the 

representatives of the Great Powers in Istanbul, as well as to our

'Sadaret' (Ottoman Prime Minister) and the Foreign Ministry.  We

thought that our protest would have an effect and that the conscience 

of the civilized countries would not allow the French to devour our

country.  Alas! We did not even get a verbal reply, much less a 

written one."

"Would that there was someone in the world who would lend an ear to

the rights of Moslems!  Let a Christian somewhere get a bloody nose

and all of Europe is up in arms, with the entire world of infidels rushing

to their defense.  On the other hand, there's not a word spoken against

the terror and oppression visited upon the millions of Moslems around

the world."

"A few days passed, but then on 30 November 1919 we saw the French 

coming in droves.   When the local Armenians realized what was

happening they were ecstatic, pouring out onto the streets to welcome 

the French.  They prettied up their girls, put on their best clothes and 

played music, going out to the city limits to greet them amid cries of

'Long live the French! Damn the Turks!'  Then, the Armenians 

accompanied the French soldiers to the barracks for the hand-over of 

occupation from the English to the French.  One English battalion left 

and a French one took its place."  

"Yet, before the French arrived, the English had said to us 'the French 

are coming here for permanent occupation. Do whatever you can to 

prevent them from staying put.'  So, on the one hand, the English were

warning us about the French and, on the other hand, giving them the 

keys to the city.  Our protests and cries for help were met with nothing

but a fait accompli."

"What were we to do?  No one gave us any guidance.  At that time the

Sivas Congress (nascent Turkish nationalist movement under Mustafa

Kemal)  was meeting, composing the Müdafaa-ı hukuk (defense of 

rights) proclamation but nothing was sent to us.  This being the case,

we had no alternative other than to spring into action ourselves, rather 

than just sit there with our arms and legs tied up."

"Because the Armenians were creating all sorts of trouble, arming 

themselve before our very eyes and forming revenge brigades.  

Armenian 'komitacı' (fighters) from Erzurum, Van and Maraş joined

up with the local Armenians in the city of Maraş, preparing to 

annihilate the Moslems of Maraş.  They didn't even pretend to hide 

their intentions, shouting 'the English didn't do what we wanted but

the French will get our revenge from you.  Henceforth you have no

right to live.  We'll cut you all up like chickens!'"

//END of PART THREE//