Copyright by Elaine Diana Smith 1959 ORIGINS OF THE KEMALIST MOVEMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (1919-1923) by Elaine Diana Smith Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations and Organization SStf* to ■ Signatures of Committee: Chairman: ■v\V^G Date: f y n I 1} June 1959 The lerican Univer: Washington, D.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE............................................... iv INTRODUCTION.......................................... vii I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ............................ 1 II. EARLY NATIONALIST EFFORTS TO FORM A GOVERNMENT IN ANATOLIA (1919-1920) lU III. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (APRIL 23, 19 2 0 ) ............ 37 IV. "NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY" THE DOCTRINAL BASIS OF KEMALISM ................................... 55 V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL GROUPINGS AND PARTIES . 77 VI. THE EMERGENCE OF MUSTAFA KEMAL PASHA AS THE LEADER OF THE NEW TURKEY......................... 95 VII. HOW THE SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FACING THE KEMALIST GOVERNMENT WERE M E T ................. 116 VIII. THE BASIC LINES OF KEMALIST FOREIGN POLICY (1919-1923) .............................. 132 XI. CONCLUSIONS..................................... 152 CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY................................... 15b SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY................................... 166 APPENDIX A. Chronology of Important Events (1918-1925) .... 191 APPENDIX B. The National Pact (Mill! Misak) of January 20, 1920 .......................... 195 iii CHAPTER PAGE APPENDIX C. Communication of Mustafa Kemal to Turkish Civil and Military Authorities, March 16, 1920 .... 197 APPENDIX D. Letter to World Leaders by Mustafa Kemal, March 16, 1920 ............................ 198 APPENDIX E. Fundamental Articles of the Constitutional Act of the Grand National Assembly (Law of Fundamental Organization) January 20, 1921 . 200 APPENDIX F. Declaration of the Government of the Grand National Assembly regarding Cherkes Ethem, January 1921 .............................. 202 APPENDIX G. Nine Principles of the People’s Party, April 1, 1923 20U APPENDIX H. Important Legislation passed by the Grand National Assembly (1920-1923)........... 206 APPENDIX I. Biographical Sketches of Prominent Turkish Leaders ....................... 207 Atatftrk, Mustafa K e m a l ................... * 207 Adivar, Halide Edib (and Dr. Adnan Adivar) . 2lit Bayar, Celal .............................. 215 Be Is, General Refet (Refet Pasha) . ....... 216 Cebesoy, General Ali Fuat (Fuat P a s h a ).... 217 Chakmak, Marshal Fevzi (Fevzi P a s h a )...... 218 Enver P a s h a ........................... 219 GBkalp, Ziya ............................ 220 InSntt, Ismet (Ismet P a s h a ) ............... 221 Karabekir, General Kazim (Karabekir Pasha) . 222 Orbay, Rauf (Rauf B e y ) .................. 223 Bekir S a m i ............................. 22U APPENDIX J. Glossary of Turkish T e r m s ................ 225 PREFACE The author, a student of international relations and Turkish affairs, wishes to acknowledge her deep gratitude to the members of her Dissertation Committee, JJr. Kerim K. Key, Chairman, Dr. Mary E. Bradshaw, Dr. Wendell W. Cleland, JJr. Lawrence D. Egbert, and Dr. Abdul Aziz Said, for their direction, advice, encouragement, and helpful criticism. Although this stucty- is concerned primarily with the Government of the Grand National Assembly and the Kemalist Movement during the period 1919-1923, special emphasis on the contribution of Mustafa Kemal to the developments during this period has been necessary because of the predominant role he played in the establishment of the new Turkey. Whether events and circumstances produce a needed leader in times of dire crisis, or whether a great leader, no matter where he may be, creates and capitalizes on conditions propitious for his rise and is himself largely responsible for his key role, is an oft- discussed question for political theorists on which there is no unanimous agreement. This writer believes that the case of Turkey from 1919 to 1923 and the emergence of Mustafa Kemal Pasha as its leader, is noteworthy as an example of an even balancing of these alternatives. Despite the undisputed first place of Mustafa Kemal aB the igniting spark and principal moving force in Turkey during this period, other nationalist leaders made significant contributions, a fact which is sometimes overlooked. In cases where, in the author's judgment, the flow of the text might be jeopardized, pertinent information has been included in footnotes, or appendices when too long to be treated in a footnote. The appendices include: important documents in translation such as the National Pact of 1920, the Law of Fundamental Organization of 1921, the Nine Principles of the People’s Party of 1923, a document about Cherkes Ethem, a Circassian guerilla leader, not easily avail­ able, a list of important legislation passed by the Grand National Assembly during 1920-1923, a brief Chronology of important events during the period for ready reference by the general reader or the student of history, and brief biographical sketches of twelve impor­ tant Turkish leaders of this period. The sketches are given in alphabetical order, except in the case of Mustafa Kemal Atattirk, who is placed first and is given more detailed treatment. A Glossary of Turkish terms is also included in the Appendix. The problem of spelling and transliteration of Turkish words and names has been a question on which no standard system has yet been devised or generally accepted. The use of different systems by various writers makes certain inconsistencies unavoidable. Words common in English such as Caliph, Pasha, Janissary, Ottoman, Abdul Hamid and Kurd have been rendered in their usual form used in books in English rather than the Turkish Kalif, Papa, Yeniperi, Osmanli, AbdtLLhamit and Ktirt, except in citations. In the case of Turkish proper names the Turkish spelling will be used, with the exception of undotted i and other signs difficult to reproduce. It will be noted that Ahmet, Mehmet, Fuat and other vi names may also appear as Ahmed, Mehmed and Fuad. This is necessary because persons spell their names in different ways, and even the same person may spell his own name differently during various periods. Yet another problem arises from the adoption of soyadi (family names) in 1935. A famous author who signed her name Halide Edib became Halide Edip Adivar after 1935, and the journalist Ahmed Jiknin is now Ahmet Emin Yalman. In referring to persons before the adoption of their new soyadi the following system is in general use by Turkish writers: Mustafa Kemal (AtattLrk), Ismet Papa (Inflntt), Mahmut Celal Bey (Bayar), Ali Fuat Papa (Cebesoy), Cami Bey (Baykurt), Rauf Bey (Orbay), and Fevzi Papa (9akmak). However, this writer will use Chakmak instead of Qakmak and Pasha instead of Papa, except in citations. Some famous personalities are better known by their old names. Nearly everyone in Turkey knows who the philosopher Kiza Tevfik was, but few know him as Bbliikbapi. This would also apply to such persons as the journalist Yunus Nadi (Abalioglu), the historian Ahmet Refik (Altinay) and museologist Halil Ethem (Eldem). Also certain writers have changed the form of their names such as Kflprttlttzadeh Mehmed Fuad now uses Mehmet Fuat Kflprttlfl and Afet Inan now uses Afetinan. INTRODUCTION Turkey, which is the pivot of United States supported defensive organization in the Middle East, and a bulwark against Soviet penetra­ tion into the strategically important, generally unstable, and oil-rich areas of that region, is important to the Rree World. This importance emphasizes the need to understand Turkey's present internal structure, her political system and leadership, as well as the main lines of her foreign policy. This understanding requires a knowledge of govern­ mental functions and powers during the early formative years of the Kemalist movement when the new Turkey was born. Bjy 1918, the Ottoman Enpire had collapsed, and out of the ruins of that Enpire, as the result of the Kemalist liberation movement, arose a smaller but more united Turkish Republic in 1923. Was this the work of one man, Mustafa Kemal Atatttrk, often called the Father of modern Turkey? If so, to what extent} and if not, who were the other contributors? What type of institutions emerged from the 1919 to 1922 period, which have been the heritage of the Republic and adopted by it? These questions will be considered in subsequent pages. The non-military activities during the 1919 to 1923 period have hitherto not received the deserved scholarly and dispassionate study. Most Turkish scholars have preferred to emphasize the military achieve­ ments of the War of Independence (1919-1922), and the modernization program of the Turkish Republic after 1923. In the last decade, however, the perspective of time, and the publication of important documents as viii well as the memoirs of some of the participants of the struggle for liberation, have made a wealth of information available in Turkish. Both Western Orientalists and Turcologists, as well as Turkish scholars and the Turkish Historical Society, assert that this crucial period is singularly in need of additional research and clarification. Most of the non-Turkish materials are very inadequate for this period of Turkish history and are based primarily on secondary sources,