Mehmet Ali Birand
Our republic is 85 years old. We lost its founder 70 years ago. Now take a look at the present situation.
We still have to establish the internal balance of the republic. Nobody is even trying to find a compromise to reconcile the religious and conservative with the secular. To the contrary, the more powerful impose their will on the others. No consideration has been given to changing conditions and international conjecture. It has been 70 years since we lost Atatürk. We are still arguing about the kind of person he was. To some, he was a leader beyond criticism. All his words were as valuable as gold. For others, he was the foe of religion and did a lot of harm to religious persons. Can Dündar has now torn down the stone statues of official ideology by opening this Pandora’s box. I watched the special showing of “Mustafa” at the Dolmabahçe Palace on Monday. I loved Mustafa even more. I was lost in admiration for him. Can Dündar has shown us the human side of Atatürk, whom we had always seen as a stern, serious or even severe leader, riding his bronze horse or leaping out from black and white photos.
We now see him as man who wrote wonderful letters in French to his beloved, drank, sang, danced and had fun with his friends. Can Dündar has shown us a pragmatic leader, who cooperated with people of opposing views when necessary and even shook hands with the devil in order to reach his objective. Can Dündar has opened the doors of an ivory cage in which we shut ourselves for 70 years. I felt much closer to Mustafa. I liked him better than the bronze statues that showed him riding a rampant horse.
Thank you Can Dündar.
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