Cyprus-Forum.com

[andytandreou]

Was it Attaturk that made Turkey secular in government?

[garbitsch]

Fundementalists do not like Ataturk. They believe Ataturk was atheist and wanted to give end to Islam in Turkey. However, Ataturk had tried to remove the Arabic ifluence within the Islam. AKP seems to like Ataturk but we do not really know it.

You are right Piratis. People do not really follow Ataturk's ideas but claim that they do!

[garbitsch]

Was it Attaturk that made Turkey secular in government?

yes you are right

[Bananiot]

Didn't Turkey say NO to the Americans when they were about to attack Iraq? Did't Papadopoulos say YES to the Americans when they were about to attack Iraq?

[andytandreou]

Didn't Turkey say NO to the Americans when they were about to attack Iraq? Did't Papadopoulos say YES to the Americans when they were about to attack Iraq?

That has NOTHING to do with Attaturk mate. Your comment is irrelevant and if I may say so quite shallow. If Turkey said YES things would have been a lot easier for the USA.
If Cyprus said NO things would have been EXACTLY THE SAME for the US in Iraq! Since Cyprus didn't want to hurt diplomatic relations with the USA why should they say NO to them! Especially since saying NO would have made no difference what so ever and would have had a high political cost...
Also... Turkey would probably have said YES to the USA if the Iraqis where not Muslims. Public opinion in Turkey is against Terrorism but NOT against Muslims so STOP presenting Turkey as a peace-loving nation simply because they said no to the USA... Why didn't they say NO to the Afghanistan war?

The same facts you have presented can be used to show that Turks are racist but I will resist that temptation because interests offen equal to racism in many countries!

[Bananiot]

I get it, and therefore, this is why we said NO to the war against Yugoslavia, because it is an orthodox country. You see the same logic is ok for us but very bad for others ...

[cypezokyli]

thanks garbitsch

[Piratis]

Didn't Turkey say NO to the Americans when they were about to attack Iraq?

the Turks didn't say "no" because they sympathized with their muslim friends. The reason they said "no" was because they were afraid that the Kurds of north Iraq would gain power something that they didn't favor. The Turks would be more than glad if the Americans allowed them to invade north Iraq so they could eliminate the Kurds there and take over oil rich lands. (but of course the Americans wanted that oil for themselves).

[akiner]

addition to piratis post

That "NO" was not because iraqis are muslim, with america's demand "placing a large army of a foreing country without taking a carrot to herself"... The no was the best choice, turkey just did profit-cost estimation...While not as a member of allied forces in Iraq, Turkey could show her discomport on any upcoming situation by all means!!

ps: the ones who want to know about ATATURK why dont you make a quick google search?

[Khan]

It is in my opinion that people like Ataturk come along once a century. That may sound like a nationalist rant to non-Turks but you have to imagine what Turkey would have been like without him.

He defeated the British at Gallipoli and stopped an invasion of Turkey during WWI, he single handedly ruined the careers of Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. After WWI when Greece, British, French and Italians occuped Turkey, he began a nationalist movement and practically mobilised every man, woman and child to oust the occupiers.

When Greece was not far from Ankara he and Ismet Inonu defeated them and sent them running back to the Aegean.

After the Republic was declared he turned the country completely round. Latin alphabet, gregorian calendar, western dress, separation of religion from state, industrialisation, urbanisation, education, right of vote to women (before France even) and more, these were all his doing.

Yes Ataturk was a dictator, but one who puts all the current dictators to shame. When you see all these dictators today who are screwing over their own countries you really appreciate what a genuine love Ataturk had for his country. He famously said that "my role as dictator is that there will be no dictator after me".

He worked entirely for the benefit of his people, he didnt build himself palaces or statues, or harbour ideas of a great empire, he was incredibly pragmatic and knew what was best for his country and dedicated his whole life to it, what possesions he had left when he died he leven eft to his country. What other leaders today can claim to have liberated, delivered and safeguared a republic for its people?