Greek and Turkish nationalistic lies!
by
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

Well, of course, I enjoyed hearing all of this, but I was really surprised by what he added at the end: “If a Greek journalist writes about Greek taboos the same way you write about Turkish taboos,” he said, “he would be lynched by nationalists.” This was really surprising because I used to assume that Greece was ahead of Turkey when it comes to freedom of expression. In fact I knew, from the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, that Greece had serious problems with regard to religious freedom, but I wasn’t aware that it failed in freedom of speech as well.

However, having thought a little about the level of nationalism in Greece, it seems quite natural to me that intolerance toward unconventional ideas might be endemic in the country. I know that Greek nationalism is mostly based on opposition to Turkey and Turks. I could, however, not say the same thing for Turkish nationalism. Anti-Greek zeal would only be one of the several components of Turkish nationalism, for the latter really has lots of “ingredients” in its makeup. From my Greek friend’s remarks, however, I also understand that Turkish and Greek nationalism share another thing: Taboos.

The Greek invasion of Anatolia in 1919 seems to be one of those taboos for the Greeks. It is also a taboo for Greek Cypriots to discuss what they did to the Turkish minority on the island of Cyprus in 1974. For Turks, on the other hand, the “great fire of İzmir” (Smyrna) in 1922 just after Turkish forces recaptured the city from Greek occupiers or human rights violations carried out by Turkish forces in Cyprus in 1974 and onwards are taboos that cannot be discussed.

I heard that the 1919 invasion has just started to be discussed in Greece. Good. When I was a child, I heard horrific stories about the Greek invasion of Anatolia from elderly people who lived through it. Do contemporary Greeks discuss these horrific events as well? I do not know.

On our side, the unspoken issue is the great fire of İzmir, which broke out when the Greek forces were evacuating the city in September 1922. Even with my limited knowledge of history, I came to the conclusion that this fire could not have been started by the Greek forces that were leaving Anatolia through İzmir. This fire broke out just after the city was recaptured by Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Armenian region in the old İzmir was just burned to ground, turning it to ashes. In Turkey we do not discuss this event and it is simply attributed to the “Greeks.” I think this is one of the many lies that we Turks tell ourselves.

However, lying about the facts and denying one’s own atrocities are not unique to Turks. Greek and Turkish nationalists are quite alike in this respect.

Just look at the Cyprus issue. We Turks only talk about what Greek Cypriots did to the Turks before 1974 whereas Greeks only talk about the military intervention of the Turkish forces after 1974. However, just before and after the intervention quite serious human rights violations and barbaric acts took place on the island. Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots suffered a lot.

Minorities in both Greece and Turkey have also suffered a lot. In this case, of course, both sides have turned a blind eye to the situation of minorities in their own countries while trying to highlight the situation of the minorities in the “other country.” Both the Turkish minority in Greece and the Greek minority in Turkey have been turned into hostages in their own countries because of this nationalistic approach to their situation.

To continue to have these lies, taboos and distorted accounts of history may be a common wish of nationalists in both Greece and Turkey. I believe, however, the people whose eyes are not blinded by the nationalist fervor have a lot to do together. We have a common history; we are neighbors. We, Greeks and Turks, need to rewrite our common history to create a common future. We should attack our own taboos and break them down. While nationalists continue to tell their respective nationalistic histories, democratic people on both sides should try to tell their people about the suffering of “others.”

Nationalism is a disease which descended on the Balkans in 19th century and made most people in this region blind. We need to regain our sight and open our eyes. Who burned İzmir? Why did the Greeks invade Anatolia? Why did the Ecumenical Patriarchate suffer so much in Turkey? What about the sufferings of the Muslims in Greece, the military intervention in Cyprus and so many other things?