Hasan Rami Paşa
a victim of the Young Turk revolution that swept through
Istanbul in 1908 and led to the fall of Sultan Abdülhamid II
the following year.
Hasan Rami Paşa's home was searched and an
accumulation of allegedly ill-gotten gains were found,
prompting the nickname 'Harami Rami' (Rotten Rami)
in the press and during a court trial against him.
In any event, in an effort to defend his naval record and his
name, Hasan Rami Paşa wrote a 'tell-all' memoir and he
sent a summary of it to the newly re-established Turkish
Parliament, requesting an investigation.
Herewith, TNT presents Hasan Rami Paşa's letter to
Parliament, transcribed and translated from the
original Ottoman.//
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To the Honorable Chairmanship of the Parliament
Since I learned of the declaration of 'Meşrütiyet' and the consequent
rescue of this nation from captivity and despotism I have been happy.
Nevertheless, I must hasten to correct the record: my entire life has
been filled with the love of my naval profession, despite all the
hardships and difficulties I endured over my career. But now, as this
honored and revered thunderbolt from Salonica (evidently a reference
to the Young Turk movement that spread to Istanbul from Salonica) has
brought freedom, I have become the target of undeserved public insults.
It has been doubly painful for me to be subjected to such troubles and
difficulties and unbearable tortures, as the nation is being liberated
from slavery. The unwarranted accusations that I was somehow a part
of the despotic regime are as burdensome for me as would be a death
sentence. I cannot bear this unjust accusation in the eyes of the nation.
And so I am takıng this opportunity to provide the representatives of
the people with a review of my important duties and positions at sea
and on land to show how I have performed in the nation's interest over
the years.
Hasan Rami Paşa's early career see this recent TNT report
for details from this same letter about his first assignments,
including an unplanned visit to Rio de Janeiro in 1866
aboard one of two Ottoman ships en route to Basra.
Upon my return to Istanbul, I was sent to England for two years of
training. After that, I was assigned to the corvette Hafzırrahman and
went to Crete. Subsequently, aboard the frigate Selimiye, I was sent
to Salonica, the site of unfortunate incidents at that time. My next
assignment was to return to England via the ship Tayif to take delivery
of the frigate Mesudiye and bring it back to Istanbul (December 1875).
I tried mightily to implement the things I learned in the English fleet,
certainly the Mistress of the Seas, on all the ships I served on as an
officer.
Postcard commemorating the arrival of the frigate Mesudiye
in Istanbul from England.
When war broke out with Russia (1878), I was assigned to the Black
Sea, where we my ship, the frigate Osmaniye, bombarded Russian
shore fortifications for months. The details of this period, by
themselves, could fıll a volume. It was a turning point in my career
but in the interest of brevity and modesty, and since the topic is outside
of my intended goal in this letter, I must leave it at this.
After serving on the frigate Osmaniye I served on other battleships,
sailing along all the shores of the Ottoman Empire. During this
service I found the Ottoman officers and sailors to be junior models
of their counterparts in the English navy. I myself endeavored to set
an example, rather than be a stain.
//END of PART I//
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