Osmanli Ordusunda Venezuelali Bir Gezgin Şövalye: Rafael De Nogales Méndez*

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Osmanli Ordusunda Venezuelali Bir Gezgin Şövalye: Rafael De Nogales Méndez* Turkish Studies - International Periodical For The Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic Volume 8/7 Summer 2013, p. 563-598, ANKARA-TURKEY OSMANLI ORDUSUNDA VENEZUELALI BİR GEZGİN ŞÖVALYE: RAFAEL DE NOGALES MÉNDEZ* Hüseyin Güngör ŞAHİN** ÖZET Venezuela vatandaşı Rafael de Nogales Méndez, I. Dünya Savaşı'nda Osmanlı Ordusu'nda gönüllü subay olarak görev yapmıştır. Yaşadığı dönemin gizemli figürlerinden biri olan Nogales, altmış yıllık ömrünün elli yılını muhalif olduğu dikta rejimleri nedeniyle ülkesinden uzakta, dünyayı dolaşarak geçirmiştir. Askerlik ve macera tutkunu Venezuelalı, 1898 yılında Küba'da savaşmış, Meksika-Amerika sınırında diktatör Porfirio Diaz'ın emrinde görevli bir atlı sınır muhafızıyken, yıllar sonra Diaz karşıtı isyancı kuvvetlere katılan bir devrimci, Uzakdoğu'da gizli ajan, Guatemala’da suikast timi üyesi, ülkesinde yıllarca bir asi, yaşamının son döneminde ise bir devlet görevlisi olmuştur. Şiarının "iyi bir savaş görürsen, savaşmak için ona gönüllü yazıl,"1 olduğunu belirten Nogales, bir asker, savaşçı, gezgin, maceraperest ve yazardı. Kendisini "bir dünya vatandaşı ve bir gezgin şövalye"2 olarak tanımlıyordu. Tabiri caizse, o, 20. yüzyılın Don Kişot'u idi. Bu çalışmada, Nogales'in anılarını aktardığı kitaplarında yer alan bilgilerden hareketle yaşam öyküsü irdelenirken, yazarın dönemin tarihi olaylarına dair anlatıları özgün kaynaklarla mukayeseli olarak incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla çok sayıda resmi kaynak ve hatırat gözden geçirilmiş, arşiv araştırması yapılmıştır. Öte yandan bu alanda literatüre yeni bilgi ve belge kazandırmak, çalışmanın amaçları arasında yer almaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Nogales, Osmanlı Ordusu, I. Dünya Savaşı, Tarih, Anılar. *Bu makale Crosscheck sistemi tarafından taranmış ve bu sistem sonuçlarına göre orijinal bir makale olduğu tespit edilmiştir. ** Ankara Üniversitesi İspanyol Dili ve Edebiyatı (Doktora öğrencisi), El-mek: [email protected] 1 Rafael de Nogales Méndez. Memorias, Tomo II. Traducción y prólogo: Ana Mercedes Pérez (Caracas: Editorial Fundación Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1991), 79-80. 2 Rafael de Nogales Méndez. Memorias, Tomo I. Traducción y prólogo: Ana Mercedes Pérez (Caracas: Editorial Fundación Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1991), 27. 564 Hüseyin Güngör ŞAHİN A VENEZUELIAN KNIGHT ERRANT IN THE OTTOMAN ARMY: RAFAEL DE NOGALES MÉNDEZ ABSTRACT Rafael de Nogales Méndez, a citizen of Venezuela, served as a soldier of fortune in the World War I. Being a mysterious figure of his lifetime period, Nogales spent almost fifty years of his lifespan outside of homeland by going around the world away because of opposition to the dictatorial regimes. Nogales, passionate for military service and adventure, waged war in Cuba in 1898; he worked for dictator Porfirio Diaz as a mounted guard in the Mexican-American border; after a while, he had become a Mexican revolutionist by joining up the rebellious forces against Diaz; a secret agent in the Far East, an assassin team member in Guatemala; a rebel for years and a government official during the last period of his lifetime in his homeland. Nogales had expressed that his motto was; "When you see a good war, join up to it to waged war!" He was considering himself as "a soldier of fortune and the citizen of the world". He was a military enthusiast, fighter, traveler, adventurer and also a writer. If I may say so, he was the Don Quixote of the 20th century. In this study, based on the memoirs quoted in the books of Nogales, his life history has been examined and the narratives of the author related the historical events in that period have been researched comparatively with the original sources. To this end, various official sources, records and memoirs have been reviewed and made archival research. On the other hand, earning new information and documents to the literature in this field are among the objectives of the study. Key Words: Nogales, Ottoman Army, First World War, History, Memoirs. Giriş Tarihi kaynaklar arasında gösterilen fatih, kâşif ve gezginlerin heyecan dolu anıları insanlık tarihine ışık tutmakta, dünyanın değişik coğrafyalarında toplumsal hafıza oluşumuna katkı yapmaktadır. Bu anılardan hareketle doğruluğu kabul gören ya da hâlâ tartışmalara konu olan sayısız tarihi örnek vardır. Yaşam yolculuğuna dünyanın bir ucunda Venezuela’da başlayan Rafael de Nogales Méndez'in hatıratı da bu örneklerdendir. Yaşadığı dönemin dikkate değer figürlerinden biri olan Nogales bir savaşçı, gezgin, maceraperest ve yazardı. Dünyayı dolaştı, serüvenden serüvene koştu, tehlikeyle içiçe yaşadı. I. Dünya Savaşı'nda Osmanlı Ordusu'nda gönüllü bir subaydı. Yaşamından otobiyografik kesitler sunan dört kitap yazdı. Gerçek yaşamını ve olayları yansıttığını ifade ettiği bu kitapların macera romanlarından farkı yoktu. Yazarın "Memoirs of A Soldier of Fortune (Gönüllü Bir Askerin Hatıraları)"3 adlı eserinin önsözünde Cunninghame Graham,4 maceralarıyla okuru soluksuz bırakan Venezuelalıyı "Üç Silahşörler'in D'Artagnan'ı"5 ile kıyaslıyor; Arthur Ruhl ise onun "savaşmak ve macera için doğduğunu"6 ifade ediyordu. 3 General Rafael de Nogales, Memoirs of A Soldier of Fortune (New York: Harrison Smith Inc., 1932). 4 R.B. Cunninghame Graham, "Preface to Memoirs of A Soldier of Fortune" by General Rafael de Nogales (New York: Harrison Smith, Inc., 1932), ix-x. Turkish Studies International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic Volume 8/7 Summer 2013 Osmanlı Ordusunda Venezuelalı Bir Gezgin Şövalye: Rafael De Nogales Méndez 565 "Damarlarında baba tarafından Venezuela Bolivar bayrağı altında savaşan ve anne tarafından Yeni Dünya'nın fatihlerinin kanını taşıdığını, Türk hilali de dahil birçok bayrak altında çarpıştığını"7 söyleyen maceraperest, bu mirasın yaşamını biçimlendirdiğini ifade ederken kendisini kısaca "... devireceği bir diktatör ya da organize edeceği bir vatansever ordusu arayışı içinde bir "dünya vatandaşı"8 ve bir "gezgin şövalye"9 olarak tanımlıyordu. Ona göre bütün mücadelesinin merkezinde "diktatörlükle yönetilen ülkesinin özgürlüğe kavuşması"10 vardı. Onu bizim için özel kılan, 1915-1919 yılları arasında Osmanlı Ordusu'nda gönüllü bir subay olarak görev yapması ve daha da önemlisi Ermeni isyanı ve tehciri sırasında bölgede bulunmasıdır. Nogales'in Ermeni meselesine dair anlatıları gerek Türk gerekse Ermeni çevrelerce polemik konusu yapılmıştır. Yazarın anlatılarında yer alan olaylara ve önemli şahsiyetlere ilişkin bilgilerin tarihe kaynak teşkil edebilecek boyutta olup olmadığı hususu tartışmaya açıktır. Ermeni meselesi ve bu konuda süregelen tartışmalar yıllarca bir kısır döngü biçiminde devam etmekte, ön yargılardan arındırılamamaktadır. Uluslararası toplumu da yakından ilgilendiren bu durum halen çözüme yönelik somut bir adımın atılmamasının ve ilişkilerin yapıcı zeminde seyretmemesinin de nedenlerindendir. Her iki toplumun bir araya gelerek arşivlerin de açılımı suretiyle yapılacak bilimsel çalışmalarla bu meselenin çözümü konusundaki çabaların sonlandırılması önem arz etmektedir. Burada Nogales'in anlatılarında yer alan bu meseleye dair hususların gerçekliği tartışmalarına girilmemekte, yargı ve değerlendirme okura bırakılmaktadır. Nogales hakkında bilgi verilen eser ve çalışmaların büyük ölçüde yazarın kitaplarında aktardığı kendi anlatılarına dayandığını belirtmek gerekir. Genel olarak belgeye dayalı kaynak gösterilmemesi, anlatılarda yer alan yaşamına ve tarihi gerçekliklere dair bazı konuların araştırılmasını gerekli kılmaktadır. Şu ana kadar araştırmacılarca ulaşılan az sayıda belge arasında bulunan "doğum ve ölüm kayıtları"11 haricinde, Osmanlı Ordusundaki görevine dair iki belge mevcuttur. Bu belgeler şunlardır: . Osmanlı Ordusunda Binbaşı rütbesiyle gönüllü subay olarak tamamladığı görevi hitamında verilen 20.11.1334 (1918) tarihli terhis belgesi (Belge.1),12 . Van Valisi Cevdet Bey'in 22/23 Nisan 1915 tarihli şifreli telgrafı (Belge.2).13 Söz konusu belgede özetle; "müsademenin şiddetle devam ettiği, kaleye hücum için komitece şehrin ve köylülerin en savaşçı bireylerinden seçildiği anlaşılan ve 700 kadar tahmin edilen iç şehir ihtilâlcileriyle bizzat uğraşmak üzere Cevdet Bey'in kaleye gittiği, Venezüellalı Nokalis Efendi'nin 5 Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan (1611-1673): Fransız kralı XIV. Louis döneminde silahşör muhafızların komutanı olarak hizmet etmiş ve Fransa-Hollanda savaşında Maastrich kuşatması sırasında ölmüştür. Fransız yazar Alexandre Dumas'ın (1802-1870) meşhur romanı "Üç Silahşörler"in kurgu karakteri d'Artagnan bu yüzbaşıdan esinlenilerek yaratılmıştır. Bkz: http://www.cutandparry.com/Musketeers.html (ET: 11.06.2013). 6 Arthur Ruhl, "A d'Artagnan of Today", review of Memoirs of A Soldier of Fortune by General Rafael de Nogales, The Saturday Review, February 13, 1932, 518. http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1932feb13-00518a02?View= PDF (ET: 11.06.2013). 7 De Nogales Méndez, Memorias, Tomo I. 28-29. 8 Age, 28. 9 Age, 30. 10 Age, 28. 11 Kaldone G. Nweihed, "Visión y Concepto de América Latina en el Pensamiento y la Acción de Nogales Méndez", Nogales Mendez: Visto Por Propios y Extraños (Caracas: Fundacion General de Nogales Mendez, 2003), 281; Luis Hernandez Contreras, "Rafael de Nogales Mendez (1877-1937): Cronologia, Nogales Mendez: Visto Por Propios y Extranos (Caracas: Fundacion General de Nogales Mendez, 2003), 404. 12 Rafael de Nogales, Four Years Beneath the Crescent, Translated from the Spanish by Muna Lee (New York, London: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926), 382/2. 13 ATASE Arşivi: No: 4-3671, Dolap No: 231, Göz No: 2, Klasör No: 2820, Dosya No: A-69,
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