ISTANBUL - Writer Murat Mıhçı stated that if the 6-7 September pogrom is not confronted, the peoples who are seen as "other" may one day become targets, and that Abdullah Öcalan's call for Peace and Democratic Society is a good opportunity to confront these sufferings.   

 

More than half a century has passed since the events of 6-7 September, a black stain on Turkey's recent history. In 1955, state radio broadcasted the news that a bomb had exploded in Atatürk's house in Thessaloniki. Shortly after this news, the evening edition of Istanbul Ekspres came out with the headline "The house of our ancestor was damaged by a bomb". After this headline, attacks against non-Muslim citizens began. 

 

Although 70 years have passed since the 6-7 September pogrom, which General Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, then head of the Special Warfare Department, described as "a successful special warfare operation", the perpetrators have not been tried. Turkey has yet to confront the pogrom in Istanbul, in which the property of non-Muslim citizens, mainly Greeks, Armenians and Jews, was looted and many people were murdered.

 

At the time of the massacre, the Istanbul Ekspres newspaper, which was known to be close to the Democrat Party (DP), published an asparagus news article stating that "A bomb was thrown at Atatürk's house in Thessaloniki by the Greeks", which sparked the attacks. The newspaper, which had a circulation of around 20 thousand, published its second edition with the headline "Our ancestor's house was bombed" two hours before the events started, increasing its circulation that day to 290 thousand. Members of the "Cyprus is Turkish Association", which was organised against non-Muslims at the time, distributed the newspaper throughout Istanbul and prepared the ground for a massacre against non-Muslims.

 

NON-MUSLIM HOUSES AND WORKPLACES WERE LOOTED

 

Thousands of people took to the streets with pickaxes, axes and sticks on 6-7 September and looted houses and workplaces belonging to citizens of different ethnic origins and beliefs, spreading from Beyoğlu, the starting point of the events, to Kurtuluş, Şişli, Nişantaşı, Eminönü, Fatih, Balat, Eyüp, Bakırköy, Yeşilköy, Ortaköy, Arnavutköy, Bebek, Kadıköy, Kuzguncuk and Çengelköy. Celal Bayar, the President of the time, who visited Beyoğlu shortly after the incidents, said, "I think we have overdosed", indicating that the incidents were planned.

 

AT LEAST 15 PEOPLE MURDERED 60 WOMEN RAPED

 

According to the newspapers of the period, 11 people were killed in the pogrom. According to the report of the Helsinki Watch organisation, this number is 15. Again, according to official figures, 30 people were injured, and according to unofficial figures, 300 people were injured. At least 60 women were raped during the pogrom. It is stated that this number is close to 400 considering the number of women who could not file a complaint due to fear. According to the Human Rights Association (IHD) report, some women were killed after being raped. 90-year-old priest Hrisantos Mantas was burnt alive. Some priests were forcibly circumcised with knives. Dozens of people were lynched. Similar incidents took place not only in Istanbul, but also in Izmir and Ankara, and Assyrians were attacked in Riha, Mêrdîn and Midyat. A total of 5,317 places, including 4,214 houses, 73 churches, 26 schools, 1 synagogue, workplaces, shops and similar places were burnt, destroyed and looted. 

 

THE AIM OF THE ATTACK WAS THE TURKIFICATION PROJECT

 

Armenian writer Murat Mıhçı reminded that the 6-7 September pogrom was directed against a large number of Greeks living in Istanbul and Armenians, Assyrians and Jews who had migrated to Istanbul from Anatolia. Mıhçı stated that the perspective of non-Muslims prevailed in culture, politics and economy, and that in the 1950s, places such as churches, cemeteries and schools remaining in Anatolia were demolished and minorities, including Greeks, were forced to migrate to Istanbul. 

 

"Such a planning was made in terms of the 'Turkification Project' of the cultural structure. We can read that this was planning from the following; we know from what was done that it was printed with a circulation almost 10 times the daily circulation of the Istanbul Ekspres newspaper of that period and that the state came up with the lie that Atatürk's house was bombed and that this bombing was actually planned by the state." 

 

'THE INCIDENT WAS PLANNED BY THE STATE'

 

Mıhçı said that the words of the then President Celal Bayar and President Adnan Menderes, "Even we did not expect this much" are a proof that the event was planned. "As a result of the events of 6-7 September, people migrated in a serious sense. Apart from economic suffering, human suffering was experienced, women were raped, religious people were attacked. We know that especially through the trade unions of that period, people from nearby parts of Anatolia were transported here and attacked with boards cut in almost the same standards in their hands and that a study was carried out in this regard. The pogrom is really a black stain in the history of Turkey and this black stain continues today with attacks on other people by changing bodies because it has not been confronted," he said.  

 

'THE THREAT OF MASSACRE CONTINUES'

 

Mıhçı stated that the massacre mentality continues in Turkey: "Since the 1955 pogrom was not confronted, there were attacks against Kurds in Konya, immigrants in Kayseri and Alevis in Maraş. Since there is no confrontation with the massacre in the past, this danger is still on the agenda. The most recent pogrom was the tribune incident on 17 September 1967 during the match between Kayserispor and Sivasspor, which resulted in the deaths of 43 people and hundreds of injuries. Maraş and Çorum are also examples of this." 

 

'THERE MUST BE A TOTAL CONFRONTATION'

 

Stressing that there is always the danger that societies seen as "other" in Turkey will face a massacre, Mıhçı said: "Today, even minorities, whose numbers are very small, have been targeted in recent cage operations and records have emerged that there are plans to attack them. Therefore, as long as 6-7 September 1955 is not confronted, all peoples who are seen as other may one day be the target of a massacre. Confrontation must be total. In other words, for democratic steps to be realistic, they must be based on a good remembrance of the sufferings of the past. As long as you do not resolve them and do not say goodbye to those souls, these pains will continue in different identities and personalities. And the whole of this geography will continue to live as a part of this pain." 

 

Mıhçı said: "If the crimes committed in the past are not recorded, the perpetrators will always reveal new perpetrators. But if you judge their crimes, find the graves of those people and somehow return their missing bodies to their families; that day, we will see that many things have really changed in this geography. Because what was done to Armenians and Assyrians a hundred years ago is being done to Alevi and Kurdish people today. There is no difference in pain in terms of identity. In other words, there is no difference between the pain of an Armenian mother and the pain of a Kurdish or Alevi mother."

 

'WE MUST BE A VOICE FOR PEACE TO END THIS CURSE'

 

Mıhçı concluded: "It is important to force the state to change its policy. States can make politics according to their DNA. However, this massacre mentality can be prevented by raising public awareness. I think that the Kurdish Movement and other societies in particular, influenced by this, have a very important place in the demand for democracy and struggle against the war policies in the country. With Mr Abdullah Öcalan in the lead, opportunities and conditions have been created for this. If we really want to end the curse in this geography, we need to give voice to peace and struggle." 

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal