Kemal Öztürk
I had been to most of the Balkan countries in the past. I’m surprised at myself, why haven’t I been to Macedonia until now? Especially after seeing these lands, the question turned into regret. I have many friends from here, but I kept postponing their invitations, and this neglect happened that way.
You’re probably wondering, why did I bother postponing this so much, as you read. If you’re a fan of reading about recent history and events, you’ll likely regret it, as I do. When you see those lands where history flowed, you suddenly detach from today and find yourself in those times.
Plaintive Balkan Ballads
On the two-hour road from Skopje to Bitola, which I think is the most important city of modern history, it was my duty to make us listen to Balkan ballads during the 2-hour drive. My old friend, Prof. Dr. Lütfi Sunar, Principal of the International Balkan University, was driving. I was choosing Balkan music that was extremely emotional and painful, quite contradictory to his extremely distant (I didn’t mean to say disinterested, though!) view of history as a scientist. As for me, I was caught up in the emotionality of these musical themes, just to spite the rector. In the last century of the Ottomans, all the painful stories, separations, wars, and uprisings had unfolded on these lands, and most of them had been turned into ballads.
While Professor Lütfü made his detached observation, “The Ottoman Empire was a Balkan Empire,” he tried to keep the steering wheel steady on the winding road that led between the lush green mountains. Yes, these lands had raised almost all the human capital and the most qualified statesmen of the Empire, which is why loss of these lands was a devastating blow to the Empire.
Bitola… coming to the shore of history
I think Bitola was the place in Macedonia I was most curious about. That’s why I wanted to get there as soon as possible and see the places I had longed to visit: the military high school where Enver Pasha, Mustafa Kemal, and Ali Fuat Cebesoy studied; the square where the Second Constitution was proclaimed and post office; the house of Niyazi of Resen; the place where the foundations of the Committee of Union and Progress were laid and its strongest organization took root.
We reached out to local Turks in Bitola and told them on the way that I wanted to see these places. The young people seemed to be hearing about some of them for the first time and were surprised. Then they said they would look into it before we arrived.
Our first stop in Bitola was the Military High School. It had been restored by TİKA and turned into a museum. Only one room had been arranged as an Atatürk memorial room; the rest displayed objects related to Macedonian culture. For example, it would have been nice to see at least a photograph of Enver Pasha, Niyazi of Resen, or Ali Fuat Cebesoy. But none were included.
The crossroads where the history turned
Bitola was, along with Thessaloniki and Skopje, one of the places that dominated the Balkans at the time of the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Monarchy Era. The square where Constitutional Monarchy was announced was called Liberty Square, but now it is Magnolia Square. Only a few mosques and a post office remain from the Ottoman period. This post office was the place where telegrams poured into Istanbul, warning that unless the Constitutional Monarchy was declared immediately, these lands would fall. Worn out, yet it has not lost any of its grandeur. This green and magnificently beautiful city, where the Young Turks and the Committee of Union and Progress organized, was once home to the densest Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire. Now the Muslim population has dropped to around 10%.
Many ballads have been composed about Bitola. But as we were leaving, I chosed the most beautiful one. We listened, trying to picture the places mentioned in the song:
“In the middle of Bitola
There is a pool
Oh, dear pool
The girls of this land are all brave
We play and dance…
In the middle of Bitola
There is a fountain
Oh, dear fountain
The girls of this land are all special…
In the middle of Bitola
There is a spring
Oh, dear spring
The girls of this land are all strong as plane trees
We play and dance…”
Resen… the city of the rebellious spirit
Within the ranks of the Committee of Union and Progress, there was a name even more famous than Enver, Cemal, and Talat Pasha: Adjutant Major (Senior Captain) Niyazi of Resen. A fearless soldier, with an intensely political mindset and a die-hard opponent of Abdülhamid. He became renowned for his fight against Bulgarian bands in the mountains. His use of unconventional warfare tactics and guerrilla methods to defeat them spread not only in Bitola, Resen, and Skopje but even became the talk of Istanbul, drawing the attention of the press. He raised deer, an unusual habit much discussed at the time, and it is said the Turkish phrase “geyik muhabbeti yapmak” (to engage in idle chatter, literally “to have deer talk”) originated from this.
Niyazi of Resen, having left the army and taken up arms with a group of men against Abdülhamid’s rule, came to be known as one of the most important figures in the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Monarchy Era.
As we entered Resen, his birthplace and hometown, I could not help but think that his relentless and harsh criticisms of Abdülhamid in his memoirs may have gone a little too far. His reason for writing his book is curious; he said that his role in the proclamation of liberty was exaggerated, overshadowing other Unionists, and that he wrote it to correct this injustice. With that book written in 1908, it seems as though he already foresaw what was to come.
After the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy, unlike the other Unionist leaders, Niyazi Bey did not go to Istanbul. He stayed in the Bitola–Resen region. In Resen, he had a government mansion built across from his house and ran state affairs from there. But he fell into disagreements with other Unionist leaders and, in 1914, was killed under suspicious circumstances. He was shot and killed while intervening in a quarrel in front of the post office in Bitola. By whom and why remains unknown. Yet it was always said he was eliminated in an internal power struggle among the Unionists.
The saying we still use today, “neither martyr nor veteran, Niyazi died in vain” was said after the murder of Niyazi of Resen.
I sit in front of his house in Resen and think about the dramatic ending to his story.
While writing this piece, I found a ballad composed for Niyazi of Resen. The lyrics are striking.
The Song of Niyazi of Resen
“The roads of Macedonia’s mountains are paved with stone
Niyazi Bey is from Resen, he will conquer the mountains
Dirty, rusty, armed, they are bands after all
Smoky, misty, clouded, yet hopeful for salvation
Don’t you see, don’t you hear
Look, Niyazi Bey is passing, don’t you see
On the morning of April the sixth at Galata Bridge
They shot Hasan Fehmi before my very eyes
Unionist, religious, both informal and officer
Both seditious, eventful, always insistent, always insistent
At the Port of Vlore eight men arrived
As Niyazi Bey passed, they fired three shots
With their caps, beards, and darkened faces
The heart of Resen never stops, it beats crying “homeland, homeland”
Don’t you see, don’t you hear
They shot Niyazi of Resen, don’t you see
For liberty, a man must be shot
To shoot a man, first one must be found…”
The Turks of the Balkans
The Committee of Union and Progress is perhaps the most fascinating movement in history, remembered with both hatred and admiration. To place its reputation, which swings between treachery and heroism, in its proper context, we may need the detached readings and analyses of scholars like Lütfi Sunar. Otherwise, romantic revolutionaries wouldn’t be able to analyze the issue with such composure. The story is captivating, exciting, and emotional…
Professor Lütfi has been serving as principal of the International Balkan University for two years now, striving to make a difference. In fact, this university, established for the Turks who remained here, means, in a sense, the continuation of the story in these lands where history flows rapidly. That is why the university and other missions carry out such meaningful duties.
The allegations about the International Balkan University
While Lütfi Sunar and his colleagues were working hard in Rumelia, far from the homeland, to build a good university and offer education worthy of Türkiye’s name, the university’s name became entangled in “fake diploma” debates in Türkiye.
While I was there, a crew from NTV came to interview Professor Lütfi about it. He responded one by one to every allegation raised and explained how deeply distressed they were by these accusations.
I won’t go into the details, but knowing Lütfi Hoca for many years, I can say it is impossible to obtain a fake diploma or graduate through favoritism from any institution under his leadership.
As I watched the work of students and professors, most of whom came from Balkan countries, I realized how much these rumors had crushed their excitement and dreams. Those who spread the news of “fake diplomas are being issued here” on the basis of mere gossip could not know the damage they were causing. A name built over years of effort, major financial investments, the hopes of students studying with high expectations, the dedication of Balkan Turks…all took a severe blow from the spread of a baseless allegation.
A Macedonian businessman, who has put a lot of effort, both materially and morally, into the establishment of the school, is reproaching, with misty eyes, to those who made the news and to those who believed the news, as we drink tea together. His reproach soon turned into a Niyazi of Resen style rebellion, and with curses, he demanded that those responsible be held to account.
In Skopje, I witnessed how a simple allegation in Türkiye could cause great demoralization and destruction for missions abroad. At that moment, you truly understand Niyazi of Resen…
I must return to Macedonia once again… There are still so many stories to tell…
Source: aljazeera.net